


Blossoms for the Dead

by swaggyliscious



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Falling In Love, Fluff and Angst, Happy Ending, Implied reference to intrusive thoughts, Inspired by Hades and Persephone (Ancient Greek Religion & Lore), M/M, More tags to come I continue writing!, Nausea, Panic Attacks, TW: Kidnapping (but really Kageyama is just stupid)
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-11
Updated: 2021-03-07
Packaged: 2021-03-15 08:28:22
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 29,647
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28685604
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/swaggyliscious/pseuds/swaggyliscious
Summary: Kageyama Tobio is the great god of the Underworld, an all powerful being with an eternal life, who has never been more lonely...that is until Hinata Shoyou shows up.Or a kagehina greek god au where Hinata is like Persephone and Kageyama is like Hades
Relationships: Hinata Shouyou/Kageyama Tobio
Comments: 11
Kudos: 90





	1. Prelude

**Author's Note:**

> The very first thing I'd like to say is that THE ORIGINAL IDEA CREDIT goes to @/ccaramelcin. I saw her beautiful artwork on tiktok, and you all should visit her tiktok user that I just mention and go check it out!
> 
> Anyways, this is my first fanfiction ever which kinda resulted from an overwhelming obsession with Kagehina and Haikyu in general.
> 
> I did some research because the concept is essentially an extension of the Hades and Persephone myth which I'll link below if you're unfamiliar. It has a mixture of greek mythology, and then some weirdly placed japanese honorifics/words that I just didn't wanna leave out (after all who is Kageyama without his "boke Hinata boke")
> 
> https://www.ancient.eu/persephone/

Since the beginning of mankind, humans have created this theory of dichotomy within the universe. To them, life is always to be interpreted as black or white, the sun or the moon, evil or good. The line between life and death is always so defined to them. One end holds life - growth, love, joy. This end is eagerly welcomed - It captivates, charms, bewitches those around it. The other end holds death. And to mere humans, well - they treat death like the plague. They choose to run from it, escape it, defy it. Life is light and death is darkness. Humans don't look past these instilled borders. Humans could never interpret that the idea of innocence could only arise with the existence of sin. That neither life nor death were meant to be interpreted as contrasting bodies, but an array, a spectrum of colors, emotions, and morals. 

They only allow themselves to believe in the existence of gods or goddesses as some superior force, an untouchable being of either ideal or villainous character. But what mankind continuously fails to acknowledge is that divine beings are still part of the universe. Despite the insurmountable power these entities possess, they nevertheless exist within nature, not above it. The true tragedy lies in the temptation of their powers. Their powers provided them with the fallacy that they could do anything. Yet, the universe continues to tether them - teasing them almost. Their powers do not exempt them from the flaws embedded deep within the universe. Their powers do not stop them from being victims of circumstance.

The tale being shared to you asks you to look past the innate barriers present in human minds. It requires that you keep an open mind. There are no borders here; no black or white, good or evil, life or death. This tale is a spectrum in which you simply cannot assign a hero or villain, cannot deem any individual as distinctly good or evil. No being deserves such a final judgement.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yikes sorry for this initial word vomit, if you guys are confused, don't worry so am I


	2. The Fateful Encounter

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kageyama questions his role in the Underworld and decides he needs a little break.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi guys, from here on out I'll try to keep my updates weekly. This is definitely a work in progress, and I'd love and appreciate your comments! So I tried my best to accurately depict the layout of the Underworld in accordance with Greek Mythology but there are quite a few inconsistencies, and again, I used honorifics such as "Kageyama-san" which doesn't entirely fit with the au but oh well :). 
> 
> https://www.greekmythology.com/Myths/Places/The_Underworld/the_underworld.html

Kageyama Tobio, the God of the Underworld, Giver of Wealth, and one of the big three was currently sitting on his throne positively bored out of his mind. He currently found himself restless as he observed yet another trial of the souls. He wore a royal purple toga, with one sleeve that covered his shoulder, while the other side drooped down to reveal his pale chest. The obsidian belt around his waist was digging into his skin - almost beginning to stab him - and his matching crown felt like it was trying to sink into his head with all the jewels atop it. Tobio toyed with the jagged bone sitting around the cord he wore on his neck, and idly took a sip of red wine as the trial proceeded. The man in front of him trembled under the weight of the merciless stares directed at him, shook as his soul was weighed for its sins. Despite what many believed, Kageyama didn’t actually have a role in the judgement. That was left up to the three deities - the judges - that sat directly below him:  Kindaichi, Kunimi, and Iwaizumi. 

Presently, the man’s soul was sinking on the scale - burdened and tainted by its copious sins . His life being one of misery, he had committed countless crimes and was finally driven to murder. The man stood before the judges, and was deemed evil. He cried out as the Furies, the punishers of the Underworld, began to encircle him, clawing at his body, taunting him, and preparing him for his impending torture. The man looked up to Kageyama, but found a ruthless lack of sympathy present in the body language of the Ruler of the Underworld. Tobio’s dark black hair covered his eyes entirely - as if they were curtains. Eyes are known to be windows to the soul, and Kageyama’s - well his soul was hidden. But without that veil, or perhaps if the man had tried harder to look past it, maybe he would’ve seen the flash of grief that crossed Kageyama’s stormy blue eyes; grief brought about by the understanding that this human in front of him was plagued with a fitful, damaged mind. Nevertheless, Kageyama said nothing, because nothing he said would have mattered: in the Underworld, a soul who had committed more evil than good deserved eternal punishment. 

Iwaizumi looked up to Kageyama with a neutral face. “Hm...it’s good that we finally got that taken care of, we’ve been looking to serve justice after all the damage that human left behind.”

“Yes, yes, disgusting creature he was. And even in his final moments of judgement he could barely gather an ounce of dignity,” Kindaichi stated, nodding in agreement. “He was only sorry after he was punished,” he stated, slight disgust forming on his face. 

“Humans are quite weak, aren’t they my lord?” Kunimi said, more of a statement than a question, but nevertheless looking up at Kageyama for some sort of affirmation. 

“Hm? Oh, ah-erhm, yes.” Kageyama mumbled, with a sort of glazed look in his cerulean eyes. 

“Are you...are you alright my lord?” Kindaichi questioned, concern lacing his voice as he observed the far away look Kageyama held. 

“Yes, I’m fine,” Kageyama looked at the judges in confusion. “What are you still doing here? Don’t you have other matters to attend to?” He snapped at the three judges. 

They looked at one another, with varying expressions of neutrality, annoyance and distaste; There goes the  _ King  _ again _.  _ They trudged out of the throne room, relieved to leave the ill-tempered god to his own devices. 

Kageyama sighed, exhaustion washing over him. A heavy feeling grew in the room, settling deep into Kageyama’s bones. Yes, he was tired. He was so damn  _ tired _ of this seemingly endless, bleak existence. He shifted in his deep black throne, the stiff ebony beginning to hurt his back. He looked at his palace walls, the range of colors being black obsidian, to slightly lighter black marble. He gripped his scepter, the smooth bones of its surface doing nothing to alleviate his irritation. 

_ He needed something _ , Kageyama decided. Just what he needed he was unsure of, which is where his annoyance originated. Perhaps he could go feed Cerberus, the three-headed dog always being a source of entertainment as it battled with itself over a slab of meat. Although the creature never took much of a liking to Kageyama, he was unlucky with most animals. Maybe a stroll alongside the River Styx would do him some good, it was always important to make sure Charon was doing his job in transporting souls across the land of the dead. 

‘ _ Maybe an actual fucking role in this place would be the real solution,’  _ Kageyama thought, gritting his teeth as he stood up. Kageyama was well aware of what everyone else thought of him. He noticed the looks of terror he got as he walked among his servants. It was never that he was trying to come across as particularly demonic or cruel, that was just his face. He was well aware of the rumors spread, about how he was abandoned by his own siblings, banished to the underworld for his controlling, dictatorial nature.  _ King, King, King  _ the other gods whispered, but never as a term of respect. No, they used it to taunt Kageyama, to remind him that he could  _ never  _ be one of them. And Kageyama was ashamed to say that sometimes - when he was especially exhausted- it would get to him. He would hear their whispers, the scattered mutters, and they would echo in his mind - reverberating in his head. Despite being god of the underworld, lord of darkness, and the collector of dead souls,  _ he still wasn’t one of them _ . 

And that was all  _ fine,  _ Kageyama had learnt to accept his place in this world. But you’d think being one of the Big Three would mean that he’d actually have a  _ fucking role.  _ What use was it ruling over the souls of the dead, when he didn’t even have a voice regarding their placement. Kageyama knew he could bestow an accurate judgement of a human’s life, he had done so countless times in the past. He was born with some genius intuition in recognizing true human character. Within a second’s glance, Tobio could see humans for who they are, their identity, and recognize their trauma. And so with his power and his bow, alongside his brethren, he had either delivered or reserved the fatal shot that would determine their fate. He was the only one of his kin with this innate ability, so it seemed obvious to him at least, that he should be the sole leader in making these decisions. This, of course, was eventually what had gotten him banished…

But now was not the time to reminisce. Tobio needed to get rid of this feeling that was building up inside him. He couldn’t exactly name it, other than to acknowledge it stemmed from this ever present feeling of uselessness. And while he couldn’t exactly do anything to redeem his purpose, he could at least venture beyond the bleak, gloomy walls of the Underworld. Not many were aware of this, but the god did enjoy visiting the Earth. While many viewed it as the wasteland of mankind, Kageyama couldn’t help but appreciate its vibrant beauty, especially when compared to the desolation of the Underworld. 

Kageyama strolled out of the throne room to his own chambers. He once again ignored the feast that was so carefully placed next to his bed; there was no point in eating anything when he had lost the appreciation for finer things, like food and taste long ago. His eyes roamed around the room in search of something. He quickly spotted it, and cut across his room, grasping his obsidian black cloak that would allow him to blend within the shadows. Kageyama threw it around his shoulders, drew up the hood, and carefully walked out of his room, making sure to take soundless steps through and out of his castle. 

He wandered through the Asphodel Meadows, inscrutable, observing the souls of neutrality who took residence here. Tobio brushed his feet along the pale green grass covering the many valleys, taking a moment to feel the bark of one of the sparse trees in the area. It was picturesque, yes, but something about it was dull, its colors muted. The scenery soon changed into a drastic contrast. The pale green savannah grass sharply turned into a shriveled up, rotting, version of itself. The branches had curled and withered up. He could tell just by the intense rotting smell that he had entered the Fields of Mourning. A hell filled with wailing souls who could never move beyond the tragedies they had experienced in life. Kageyama made sure to quicken his pace here, certainly in no mood to hear the howling cries of heartbreak. 

He finally reached his destination, the Lethe River, it’s milky white water meant to wash away the memories of a past life. It would of course not work on him (despite his numerous attempts), but it did serve as an effective transportation to the mortal realm. He walked up to one part of the river, where the shore was just slightly indented. Kageyama then took a look around, making sure no one was around, and brought out his staff, tapping three times on the indentation. The murky liquid of the wide river momentarily cleared, making way for a staircase that winded downwards to a door, that stood at least eight feet tall, deities and mystical creatures etched into its oaken frame. Tobio reached the end of the staircase, taking a moment's breath and staring at the door.

_ Really, really shouldn’t be doing this, _ Kageyama thought, as he nervously reached towards the door handle and then retracting his hand just as quickly. It was technically, against the rules of his punishment, but-well-he was a  _ god _ , and he could go wherever he damn pleases. Kageyama thrusted his hand upon the handle and practically burst through the door. He immediately brought his hand over his eyes, a momentary shield against the forgotten brightness of the sun. Once the spots had cleared in his vision, Tobio moved forward a step and inhaled, softly and slowly. The air was so vivid up here, so alive it was almost sweet. He tilted his head up, as his jet black hair fell away from his eyes, the slope of his strong nose turned up to breath in deeper - to get in as much of that pure, unadulterated air as he could. The baby blue of the sky highlighted the god’s deep, midnight blue eyes, and caressed his marble skin. 

Tobio had exited from [Lake Pergusa](https://www.zainoo.com/en/italy/sicily/enna/lake-pergusa), which lay on the outskirts of Sicily. The blue of the water was crystal like, acting as a mirror awash with a pure blue tint. Light pink salmon swam along the river, although they skittishly avoided Kageyama, their instincts telling them to run from death. Kageyama was used to it. He stepped out of the river, and after a moment's hesitation, removed his sandals to bury his feet in the rich green grass. The anticipated softness tickled at his heel, and Tobio fought to restrain an uncharacteristic, wobbly smile that was attempting to erupt on his face. He strode forward into the wide expanse of forest that lay before him, his location already in mind. The sun had filtered through the thick canopies, washing everything in gold. As he roamed the forest, he fought the urge to brush his hand across its flamboyant leaves. A monarch butterfly crossed his path, and eyes going wide, he delicately extended a finger, a hair’s length away from the creature before it panickedly swerved away. Kageyama sighed. He really couldn’t blame the creature. After all, why would such beauty, perhaps even the epitome of life, want to be around him? 

Tobio finally reached his destination, standing upon a graveyard.  _ How fitting, the God of the Underworld seeking comfort in the dead,  _ Tobio imagined others saying. But it wasn’t so much the dead that allured Tobio as it was the splendor they were put to rest in. Tiny purple and yellow flowers sprung from around their tombstones. Wreaths, food, clothing was left on their graves in memory. Beautiful epitaphs were written in remembrance of each soul. Tobio found comfort in understanding that even in death, no one was really forgotten. 

Tobio began his routine, kneeling in front of the first grave and pressing his fingers to his lips and then his fingers to the tombstone. He uttered a prayer under his breath, wishing that each soul, no matter the good or harm they had done, had a safe journey to their destination. Kageyama had made his way to about the sixth tombstone before he heard a snapping noise, and then a high pitched screech that grated his ears. His head whipped around in surprise, before abruptly standing up.

Against his better judgement, Tobio rushed in the direction of the sound, double checking along the way that his cloak was still on to disguise himself from any mortals. Sprawled across the floor was a boy, whose face was currently interacting with a ground full of dirt, licks of orange hair sticking up. He was rather small, and was wearing a purple toga like Tobio, except that it’s color was more akin to lavender. Or rather, that’s what the color would be, if it weren’t decorated with splotches of dirt and dust. Sensing the boy was mostly fine _other than the stupidity he was clearly plagued with,_ thought Kageyama, he made his way to turn around when the boy let out a groan. Kageyama quickly ducked behind a tree, hoping his cloak would serve as enough of a disguise. He peered around, wanting to look for a little longer.

“Owww, that really hurt,” the boy grumbled as he pushed his way up, “And I didn’t even reach the flower…” he pouted, before dusting off his toga and resting on his heels. 

The boy turned around, and in that moment, Tobio felt his breath catch in his chest. This boy, or rather, he looked to be around Tobio’s age (or around the age he chose to display himself as) ...well he was  _ tragically  _ beautiful. Despite the few nicks and impending bruises, his skin was perfect, sun kissed, freckles dotting it. His toga ended just above his knees, but at the moment it was slightly rucked up, revealing muscular thighs. The boy then stood, and Tobio took note of how short he was, certainly nothing more than 170 centimeters. Tobio’s eyes then wandered up, and despite his short frame, the boy seemed to have well built arms as well, broad shoulders. His toga had both sleeves each going across his shoulders. His arms were adorned with armbands that were made to look like vines, yellow flowers doting around it. He had similar bands around his thighs. Tobio finally looked up to his face (more like he was unable to look away), studying his almost impish features. He had a delicate, upturned nose, with thin lips that looked bitten and chapped from even this distance. He had a rounded face, with a rosy blush resting on his cheeks. The warm, earthen brown of his eyes was visible from even behind Tobio’s tree, and the boy’s hair… it was as if it was born from fire. It was bright orange, fluffy and sticking up all over the place. Resting on his head was a flower crown, of green vines similar to his other jewelry, and dandelions decorating it. 

Unknowingly Tobio leaned forward, one foot raised to take a step closer. 

_ CRACK. _

Oh fuck. No no no, he had stepped on a fucking  _ branch _ , well at least the mortal probably couldn’t see him; Tobio’s cloak was designed for that. He swung back behind the tree, taking deep breaths to hopefully steady his heartbeat. 

_ Give it a few more seconds, he’ll probably pass it off as some kind of animal. _

Tobio waited another minute or so, before carefully turning his face ever so slightly beyond the tree-

“SHIT! What the hell!?” Tobio leaped back as two golden brown eyes were suddenly  _ right in front of his goddamn face _ , hand clutched over his heart once again. Their eyes met, and for that moment, it seemed as if time stood still. To a god, time passes by fast. A millennium was nothing, he had lived through several of those. But staring into those amber eyes, time, for a mere second, stopped. He could’ve spent a millenium staring into those eyes. Both men were staring at each other, a sudden breeze blowing through the orange locks. Brown and blue eyes widened in stunned silence, both momentarily awed by each other’s presence-

“Uwaahhh, you sure get scared easily! What were you doing? Why were you hiding behind that tree? Were you spying on me? What’s your name? Why are you hiding behind that tree?” Tobio was suddenly attacked with an onslaught of questions, the boy’s voice rising in pitch with building excitement. He continued brushing dirt off his arms and toga, straightening the dainty flower crown resting on his nest of hair. 

“You-you can see me?!” Tobio spluttered, gripping at the hood of his cloak.  _ No that’s impossible, the only way this boy could see me was if he...if he was a god? _

“Uhm, yes I can see you?” He said that like it should be obvious, like everyday someone could identify Kageyama on Earth. “You are standing  _ right  _ in front of me… and besides any God could sense your presence from a mile away- hey you’re not from here are you?” He looked up at Tobio, the size difference even more apparent this close. 

Kageyama glared down at him, his aura radiating unfriendliness. The boy shivered under his gaze, before straightening up, giggling nervously “Okay so I’ll take that as a no-”

“Who are you?” Kageyama questioned, curiosity lacing into his tone. The boy had said he was a god, but he clearly wasn’t a major one if Kageyama wasn’t able to previously sense his presence.

The boy took a step back bowing slightly, his mop of hair falling forward until he tilted his head up, fixing Kageyama with this intense stare. “Hinata Shoyou, son of Demetre, God of the Spring at your service,” the look evaporated, replaced by the wink and bubbly smile the god gave, “and who may you be?”

Kageyama paused, taking a moment to inhale because _oh shit he really was a god, and if the others found out he had violated the terms of his punishment he would be destroyed,_ _and it would probably be completely moronic to let this puny man-child know his true identity-_

“Kageyama Tobio, God of the Underworld.” _ Well that’s it. He was now royally fucked,  _ Tobio thought to himself as he bowed slightly as well. 

“Kageyama Tobio. Ka-ge-ya-ma Tobi _ oooo _ ” Hinata tested the name on his tongue. “Well a pleasure to meet you Kageyama-san. So can you tell me what you were doing behind that tree?”

Kageyama scowled at Hinata, “I heard you shriek - you sound like a little girl by the way - and I just wanted to make sure that no one was dying or anything,” Tobio mumbled the last part lest anyone find out  _ he actually cared about other people _ . “What the hell were you doing climbing that tree with your size?”

Hinata spluttered indignantly, practically shouting at Kageyama “If you  _ must  _ know I was trying to reach this flower I’d seen growing up in that tree, it looked like it smelled lovely and I have a rather deep fascination with plant life if you couldn’t tell, and besides I am rather good at climbing trees and there’s just so many different types…” 

Kageyama studied Hinata further, while the shorter male rambled on, apparently perfectly content with holding a one-sided conversation. He was even more beautiful up close, Tobio could see how his freckles were littered across his face as well, over the slope of his nose. 

“...and you still never answered my question just so you know? I asked why you were hiding  _ baka _ geyama-aH-'' Hinata screeched as he suddenly found his hair being held in what he assumed was a death grip. “Let  _ go  _ of me!” he screeched, flailing his arms in an attempt to break free.

“What...did you just call me?” Kageyama growled, hand tightening in Hinata’s hair. 

“N-nothing! Nothing at all, nope!” Hinata stuttered.

Kageyama scoffed, finally letting go of the red head's hair. “Whatever  _ moron _ . And you never answered my question either. You’re a god right, why go through the trouble of climbing a tree when you probably could grow your own flower, and on top of that you're built like a gnome.”

“ _ Excuse me? _ Well at least I don't have a horrendous personality! And don’t go around insulting dwarf folk like that, you’re a god at least act like one.” His nose flared and his voice went up an octave, but all Kageyama was only partially focusing, his gaze on Hinata’s freckles and the fluttering of his eyelashes. 

Having eventually registered he was being insulted, Kageyama glowered over Hinata, “I’d rather be rude than a pre-pubescent idiot of a god.”

_ “Bastard!” _

_ “Imbecile!”  _ Kageyama suddenly found that his face was much closer to Hinata’s, both gods breathing heavily, face flushed from their screaming match. He had never in his life interacted with someone so explosively, there was this...  _ potent _ feeling rising in his chest. 

“Hmph,” Hinata pouted, arms cross, face turned away with an affronted look resting upon it. “Well if you’re going to continue to be rude, I’d rather climb my tree alone, thank you very much.” He began walking away before Tobio’s arm launched out, gripping Hinata’s forearm.

“Wait!” Tobio gasped out, letting go of Hinata’s arm as if it burned him. He had no idea what he was  _ doing  _ but something about this god was so alluring, he found that he wasn’t ready to let go...quite yet… “I-I’m sorry” Tobio muttered. 

“What was that?”

“I’M SORRY!” Tobio yelled, rendering his apology worthless with the threatening tone of his voice.

Hinata studied the taller man for a moment, gaze softening just slightly once recognizing that there was some genuinity behind the man’s words. “Fine,” Hinata grumbled, turning away again, “but if you’re going to stay with me, you could at least help me reach the flower.” Hinata said, glancing back hopefully.

Kageyama raised an eyebrow for a moment, arms crossed and chest drawn broad. But the god eventually nodded his assent, just slightly, before hesitantly following the shorter man. They reached the tree, and Tobio observed it, silently impressed that Hinata was able to climb it. The tree was large, gnarled roots, its first branch being at least six feet high. “How the hell did you-”

Tobio’s question was interrupted as the little god let loose a yell, suddenly five feet away from the base of the tree and running towards it at an alarming rate. Kageyama backed away, startled, watching how Hinata barreled towards the tree and at the last second bent his knees, arms hanging behind him before he... 

Oh. So that was how he managed to get up that tree. Hinata burst into the air, suspended for a moment as he essentially flew up to the branch. Although it was still arms reaching for the branch, Tobio envisioned a pair of wings attached to the shorter man's back.

“Aha! Take that! I told you I could climb well!” Hinata exclaimed, shoulder muscles flexing as he pulled himself up the branch, eventually swinging a leg over so he could sit upon it properly. He looked down at Kageyama for a second and their eyes, once again, met. Kageyama quickly blushed and made a move to look away, but Hinata broke eye contact first. He began to reach branch by branch, ascending the tree in an effort to get close to his object of desire. A yellow flower sat growing high up on the tree, it’s bright petals and vivid purple center visible from even this distance. Kageyama took a second not just to admire the flower, but notice how it seemed to… resemble Hinata?  _ Seriously what the hell is happening to me. _ Hinata eventually sat on the highest branch, a couple arms length away from the delicate branch the flower rested on. 

“Oi, what the hell did you need me for if you managed to climb this tree yourself?” Kageyama shouted, hands cupped around his mouth.

“Pass me your sticky thing Bakageyama!”

“Huh?”

“You know, the black stick you’ve been carrying with you this whole time?”   
  


“Black stick-it’s a  _ scepter  _ you absolute  _ dumbass?! _ ”

“Yes, yes and it is very pretty!” Hinata cried trying to assuage the grimace on Kageyama’s face. “Now pass it up here.”

Kageyama approached the base of the tree, looking up until he could clearly see the branch Hinata rested on. He removed his scepter from the belt on his waist, gripping it with both hands as he looked down at it and then back up to Hinata. “I swear, if you break it you will rue the day-”

“Oh my  _ gods  _ could you please just pass it already?”

Kageyama huffed and then threw the scepter up, like a javelin. For a moment he worried that Hinata would neither be able to catch it, nor maintain his position in the tree, but in the last moment he saw Hinata’s small fingers wrap around it. Hinata then went to a crouching position on his branch, and extended the scepter, using the sharp end to pull down on the branch that held the flower. It took him one, two tries, the first times his fingers  _ just  _ grazing the petals until finally he wrapped his hand around the stem and plucked it from its branch. He took a moment, inhaling its scent deeply, before a grin split his face, too bright for the flower itself. Hinata then began his descent, effortlessly leaping from branch to branch, swinging himself down until finally his feet hit the ground. 

Hinata giggled, bouncing on the soles of his feet while twirling the flower in his fingers. “Ahh it’s so beautiful isn’t it! Thank you very much for your assistance Kageyama-san, even though you were pretty mean at first. Anyways, I’d better be going, I want to show mother the new flower I collected, perhaps she’ll allow me to grow it in our garden...Oh! Here you go-” Hinata thrust the scepter back in Kageyama’s hands, once again caught up in his own tangents.

But Kageyama wasn’t listening to a word, too busy staring at his scepter, stunned into silence. Right where Hinata’s hands were, flowers and leaves began sprouting from the wood. It was an array of colors, pinks, yellows, purples.. Kageyama couldn’t help but notice it made the obsidian of his staff all the more beautiful for it.  _ ‘But how was this  _ **_possible,_ ** _ this scepter was meant to be impenetrable, indestructible-’  _ Kageyama looked up from his scepter, eyes hazy as he stared at Hinata, coming to a decision in his mind.

Hinata was blissfully unaware, still chattering about something, until Kageyama’s hand enclosed his wrist. “Kageyama-san…? Are you alright? I would like to stay too, but my mother really is expecting me back soon-WAH!”

Whatever else Hinata was planning to say was lost, as the tiny god was lifted off the ground by Tobio, and thrown over the taller man’s shoulder like he weighed nothing. Tobio then threw his cloak over his shoulders again, this time making sure it covered most of Hinata as well. He began sprinting forward, back through the forest, as Hinata shrieked and kicked as forcefully as he could at Kageyama’s waist. Kageyama winced multiple times, the god really did have strong legs, but ran forward,  _ with one thought consuming his mind _ .

Hinata began to grow desperate, clawing up and down Kageyama’s back, pounding at his shoulders: “Let me go you BASTARD! I DEMAND YOU LET ME GO-WHERE THE HELL ARE YOU TAKING ME?!” Hinata wailed on and on. Kageyama finally reached the shore of Lake Pergusa, striding forward to the indentation and rapidly tapping twice, impatiently waiting for the staircase to form. He began running down the steps, Hinata still in tow.

  
“Hello?! Kageyama-san  _ please  _ let me go, I  _ beg you _ , I don’t understand-what did I do wrong-someone HEL-” Any other screams Hinata emitted were swallowed, as the door leading to the underworld was slammed shut, the water of the lake collapsed upon the scene. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> omg kageyama what did you just do


	3. The Infamous Fruit

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kageyama provides an explanation while Hinata learns to face his new harsh reality.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi everyone! The third chapter is finally up, and once again comments and kudos are greatly appreciated. (Seriously I read over comments like three times every day just to smile). This chapter felt kinda rushed, Mock trial and school has been taking up my time, but hopefully everything makes sense! HIGHLY recommend listening to Lovely by Billie eilish at the beginning or I Found by Amber Run to set the mood. I wrote with a weird combination of greek mythology/percy jackson and then a couple scenes were inspired from beauty and the beast. Also I tried to incorporate scenes and quotes from Haikyu so lmk if they were evident ;). Happy reading you guys, see you next week <3

The last thing Hinata saw before his eyes closed was the water shutting over them, the last of the Earth’s sun being snuffed out replaced by this dreary darkness. Hinata had grown accustomed to bathing in the warmth of the sun’s rays, and the lack of such warmth left him queasy in a way. It felt…  _ wrong. _ His body went slack, legs going completely still, his arms draped over the taller man’s shoulders. The last thing he felt was his eyes rolling back and then everything was dark. When he next woke up, the first feeling he absorbed was, once again, the cold. The ground-or no was it sheets?- under him were almost frozen, the very air itself felt like it lacked oxygen, thin and icy. His eyes fluttered open, everything out of focus, something resembling a face above his head. He blinked blearily trying to force the spots in his vision to resemble reality. 

“Mother? What happened? Why is everything so dark?”

“I’m not your mother, imbecile,” Kageyama scoffed.

Shoyo’s vision suddenly cleared and raven hair and midnight eyes came into focus. Hinata felt his own amber eyes grow wide in response, the icy feeling piercing through his chest. 

“-and what the hell did you pass out for, are you feeling ill?”

But Shoyo wasn’t hearing a word Kageyama -- no his  _ kidnapper  _ was saying, suddenly consumed by an overwhelming fear. Hinata shot back, scrambling across the sheets, rumpling them. “Stay-stay back!” Hinata stammered, his hands held up in a defensive pose, eyes wide in fear. He stood up from the bed, eyes frantically searching for any object that could be weaponized. He quickly scooped up a silver food tray, eyes still on his kidnapper, now across the room from Kageyama, object held above his head as he prepared to swing. 

Tobio’s eyebrows raised, and his mouth fell open at the outburst. “What is  _ wrong  _ with you? Did I hit your head somewhere, why are you acting like this?”

“Why am  _ I  _ acting like this?” Hinata whispered, voice growing rapidly in volume as any fear he had evaporated into anger. “You-you  _ kidnapped  _ me. You took me away from my home, without my consent to-to, where are we?!” He was breathing deeply now, heaving, the anger pouring out of him rapidly.

Tobio’s mouth set into a hard line, and he looked away for a moment, biting his lip, before turning back around. “We’re in my home.”

A clattering sound reverberated around the room, as the tray slipped from Hinata’s hands, crashing to the floor. Hinata’s fists were clenched at his side, he was shaking, and to an outsider it might’ve appeared as if he was crying. That is, until he looked up, fixing the taller man with the most intense glare he could muster: “You brought me...to the  _ Underworld?!” _

“I...yes. I wanted to-” but whatever words, whatever  _ sick justification  _ Tobio was trying to make was cut off, as Hinata screamed, launching himself onto the other man. He clung to Kageyama’s waist, looking up at him, but only seeing red. He had this heat in his chest and Hinata wasn’t used to it. The happy boy lived among hope, joy, and comfort. This unfamiliar - almost  _ scathing _ \- anger deep in his chest, well - he needed it out. This wasn’t him. 

“How DARE you? I trusted you, you BASTARD. And you took me away from my family and brought me to the land of the dead!” Hinata was pounding against Kageyama’s chest, one hand pressed up against the god’s face. Hinata felt a grip on his hair, but adrenaline was pulsing through him - coursing through his body - and he didn’t register any pain. He gathered all his strength, pushing back at the taller boy, no  _ shoving him,  _ until Kageyama’s back met with the wall, and he wheezed out. Shoyo sucked in air, panting and staring up at Kageyama’s eyes. He could only see black. Kageyama gripped Shoyo’s arms, and shoved him back, the smaller of the two landing on the bed. Shoyo tried to push himself up, but suddenly his arms felt too weak, legs unable to support his weight. Any fight drained out of him when it finally sunk in just where he was, who he was with, and that he probably would never return home. He couldn’t fight against the lord of the underworld, especially not in his own territory. Realization and a dark almost acceptance gripped him as he sunk to the floor, knees harshly hitting the ground. He clutched at the front of his toga, almost desperately, pulling at it, as if that would alleviate the weight of the fear pressing on his chest. He held the toga close, clutching it - that was all he had. He let the weight of this comprehension - how he was truly down to the clothes on his back - sink in before he racked out a shuddering breath. His breaths came out rapidly, before they began turning into sobs, his shoulders shaking with the power of each cry. Under any other circumstance, he would probably feel embarrassed to cry in front of another god, but this wasn’t any god, no this was the  _ King _ and he was a monster. 

Hinata would have had to be a fool to have not heard the rumors that floated around about Kageyama Tobio. How he was a controlling sociopath, incapable of understanding emotions or returning them. Hinata had heard how he was sent to the Underworld, for a man as empty as him belonged with the dead. And Shoyo tried his best, tried not to fall prey to the power of rumors, and when he finally met the notorious King, he thought  _ hell, this man is nothing like what I was told _ . Clearly Shoyo was now paying the price for his naivety. He closed his eyes as he felt his stomach turn over, as another wave of panic rolled over him.

“Listen Hinata, I wasn’t trying- _ gods _ , I just wanted-” Kageyama started, but Hinata was already shaking his head, his hands going from his chest, to wrapped around his arms, knees drawn up, face buried in it. No, Hinata couldn’t look at him. He couldn’t bear to look at the harsh reality. Right now, he just needed a moment, he couldn’t hear anything right now, could barely breathe. 

“ _ Please, _ ” Hinata said, voice barely above a whisper, “Please leave me be. You’ve already taken me captive so either you leave me alone or kill me right now because there is nothing you can say that’ll justify what you’ve done.”

Kageyama opened his mouth, and then closed them shut, guilt sparking in his eyes. He hesitantly turned away, and placed his hand on the room’s doorknob, ever so gently turning it, and then stepping out of the room, closing the door just as softly. 

For a moment everything was silent. But it wasn’t a comforting type of silence, no, this was the type of silence that could only be filled by madness. Hinata sobbed one more time, his only method of releasing the unfamiliar torrential downpour of emotions that was running rampant in his body. He hated this; he hated feeling like this. This red hot anger - it was clawing at his chest. It was burning and he felt like his blood had turned into lava. He stood up shakily, breaths turning more ragged, he needed to do something - anything. He just needed to get rid of the flames that rushed through his veins, that was scorching his organs. He stomped to the corner of the room and began throwing everything he could get his hands on. Vases shattered against the wall, furniture tipped over. He looked at a mirror in the corner, and his eyes, once again, filled with tears. It was so dark he could barely see his vivid hair. He picked up the silver tray and hurled it at the mirror. It shattered and the deafening noise echoed, bouncing around the walls of his mind. He breathed heavily, before a flash of yellow caught his eye. Shoyo saw the flower, the one they had picked together, sitting on the bed. In the next heartbeat he picked it up, and began ripping off the petals, breaking the stem. He dropped it to the ground, and stomped on it furiously. It was wrong - wrong for the flower to be so exquisite, so full of life, in the depths of the Underworld. Nothing good belonged here. He lifted his foot, seeing the decimated state of the once beautiful flower, lying pitifully on the ground, and Hinata collapsed on the bed, tears streaming down his face. 

\-------------

Kageyama was pacing around the throne room, worrying the fabric on the bottom of his toga before moving his hands to his face to bite along the nail of his thumb. 

He understands what he did could be perceived as wrong, he  _ knows.  _ But at least give him a chance to explain  _ unlike that tiny, idiotic shrimp-man. _ Tobio swears, he wasn’t trying to kidnap Hinata! Well, not exactly. It’s just that when he saw those flowers, erupting from his scepter Tobio thought  _ this is it. This is what I’ve been searching for. _ He didn’t know how specifically, but he knew Hinata would be the person to bring some change, maybe some life, into this hell (oh the irony). This was what he was looking for, this -or ehrm-  _ he  _ is what Tobio needed. 

There was something special about Hinata. And perhaps Tobio doesn’t know him all that well (after all they had talked all of two minutes), but he knows that the little ginger- well, his soul was pure. There had been something off with the Underworld, Tobio has sensed it. What used to be a destination for those after life, an adventure after death, has turned into a location people fear. What Kageyama didn't know however, was how to fix it. That was until he met Hinata.

And there was of course, a deeper, shall he say, more personal matter. He couldn’t really put into words this feeling he was experiencing, except to say that for a moment, with Hinata, it wasn’t so much that a new feeling arose, but more like the absence of one. Weariness had been weighing down on his bones, and even though he was the  _ all powerful god of the underworld,  _ he had never felt more human, because, well, Tobio had forgotten his purpose in life. And for that small time, perhaps it was just mere minutes, Tobio felt that feeling replaced, as if something was beginning to grow inside of him, like weeds sprouting from concrete. He felt, for once, not so alone. 

‘ _ There has to be something I can do that’ll convince him to stay. Not forever, just something temporary,’  _ Tobio thought, his brow scrunched up in thought, racking his brain on how to make his home appealing to a guest (what, it’s not like he has visitors knocking on the door every fucking day). Perhaps he could have Hinata meet Cerberus. ‘ _ Great idea, the first thing you should do is introduce Hinata to a three-headed creature of hell, that’ll convince him.’  _ So that was out, maybe there was a trial occurring, maybe he could have Hinata sit through it, observe, have him see for himself the power of the Underworld. But something about that idea didn’t sit right either, he wanted to ease Hinata into the place. There had to be somewhere he could take the smaller god, somewhere that would convince him the Underworld was beautiful too. ‘ _ But that was the problem, wasn’t it? No such place existed down here.’  _

Tobio groaned out loud, collapsing onto his throne, head thrown back to rest against it. 

“My lord?...Is something the matter?” A deep voice broke the silence interrupting his inner turmoil.

Tobio’s head shot up at the gruff sound of Iwaizumi’s voice. 

“Nothing!” Kageyama said, his voice an octave higher than it should be. “I’m, uh, fine - everything’s fine. Why?” Kageyama stuttered, internally cursing himself at his very poor attempt to cover up. 

Iwaizumi’s gaze narrowed, analyzing “You’re sure…?”

“Yes, of course, I just have a headache” Tobio mumbled.  _ Well that’s not entirely a lie.  _

“Ah. Shall I bring you some nectar? It’ll soothe the pain.”

“No, that’s unnecessary,” Tobio muttered, rubbing the temples of his forehead, eyes closed. 

Iwaizumi crossed his arms, now entirely skeptical. “If you’ll forgive me for being blunt my lord, I’ve served you for centuries, I can tell by now when you’re lying to me.”

Kageyama sighed, running his hand through his hair “Iwaizumi-san, really everything is fine. I’ll go get the nectar myself.” 

Iwaizumi’s gaze softened, “Very well Tobio.” He bowed and began to walk away, but turned his head for a brief second. “You know, sometimes when I feel like I just need a place to get away, or just think, I like to visit the garden…” he fixed Tobio with a knowing look and then turned, exiting the chamber. 

Kageyama slumped in his chair once more, looking off to the side. ‘ _ The garden...not a terrible idea.’  _

He stood up, collecting his staff which had fallen on the ground, gently running his fingers over the flowers. ‘ _ Not a bad idea at all.’  _

\-------------

Hinata jerked awake at the sound of rapid knocking at his door. He had knocked out after Kageyama left, partly too exhausted to comprehend anything, partly because sleep seemed to be his only device of escape. He guessed he had slept for at least a few hours...although he couldn’t really be sure as there was no day and night in the Underworld. He rubbed at his eyes blearily, too exhausted to feel anything but small waves of contempt still rolling through him. He crawled out of the bed, tripping over the bedding before aggressively kicking it out of the way. Shoyo trudged up to the door, leaning his ear against it, but unwilling to open the door. 

“Hinata? Hinata, open the door,” Kageyama said, his voice gravelly.

“Listen Kageyama, I’m not sure how much clearer I can make this, but I asked you to leave me alone,” Hinata grumbled, back now resting against the door, arms crossed, face scrunched up in annoyance. 

“Yes I understood but I-”

“No! Just stay the hell away from me, I don’t know how else to convey this, I don’t want to see-”

“Come with me to my garden!” Kageyama blurted, cutting Shoyo off. 

“What?” Hinata turned and looked at the door in confusion, before realizing that Kageyama should probably be at the end of his glare. He opened the door rapidly, fast enough that Kageyama stumbled forward through the entrance, apparently having been leaning on the door. On reflex Hinata grabbed Kageyama by his shoulders, stabilizing him. For a moment, their faces were inches apart from each other and Hinata wanted to push him away - but all he could pay attention to was the fact that he was close enough to count every long eyelash, to take note of ‘ _ just how blue Kageyama’s eyes were. They were like midnight and storms wrapped in one, you could so easily get lost in them and then swept up in their downpour-’ _

“I-” Hinata saw the movement of Kageyama’s throat as he swallowed. “I told you to accompany me to the gardens.” 

Whatever moment had foolishly entranced the both of them shattered as Shoyo shook his head slightly, stepping back with a guarded expression once again taking over his features. “You’re  _ telling  _ me to go to the gardens with you?” Hinata scoffed. “You are in no position to be telling me to do anything. And if it wasn’t clear to you already, I don’t want to spend another moment in this wasteland, or another moment with you, much less have a private tour to your  _ gardens _ .” He took a breath, as if to calm himself before he hardened his gaze and looked straight into Kageyama’s eyes. He needed to get his message across. “The only way I will ever follow you anywhere is if it is out of this place and back to my home. Now get out.” Hinata exhaled with his mouthful of words, punctuating them with a light shove against the taller man. 

The push was too light to have actually done any damage, but Kageyama’s gaze darkened, nonetheless, as he stepped out of the room. “What the hell are you being so stubborn for?” he growled, “I’m trying to be kind to you here, at least consider my offer-” his next words were cut off as Hinata slammed the door in his face.

“ _ FINE!”  _ Shoyo jumped as Kageyama yelled from outside the room, “ _ ROT IN THERE FOR ALL I CARE! _ ” Hinata huffed and stomped back to the bed, flopping on it for what felt like the hundredth time. ‘ _ As if I would ever go anywhere with that bastard.’  _ Hinata thought in annoyance. He toyed with the bedding for a few moments longer, cursing Kageyama in his head.  _ ‘And why would I ever want to explore the Underworld-’ _

Hinata sat up rapidly, a realization hitting him. He smacked his face, cursing his stupidity for not coming to the idea sooner. He quickly scouted the room for some sort of cloak to cover him. Hinata spotted a black cloak strewn across one of the seats in the room, scampering over to it before quickly wrapping himself in it. He approached the door, placing his hand on the doorknob, and breathed in deeply.  _ ‘This is my only chance out of here. If I follow him now, perhaps he’ll lead me to an escape route.’  _ Shoyo opened the door slowly, wincing at the creak it gave, before gently closing it. He looked left and right for anyone else, before scurrying off in the direction he believed Kageyama went. 

And not only was Kageyama unaware of the little redhead that followed him, but neither noticed the figure trailing silently behind them both. 

\-------------

Hinata huffed as he hid behind yet another pillar. He had caught sight of Kageyama shortly after he had left the room; the raven haired god seemingly exuded anger just in the way he stomped through the castle. Shoyo was sure the other god couldn’t hear him, but his bright orange hair wasn’t exactly equipped for stealth missions, even if he had the hood of his cloak covering most of it. He peeked around the pillar, and after a couple seconds he deemed the distance between the two of them safe. He followed Kageyama, through what seemed like dozens of different twists and turns, the palace a labyrinth of endless darkness. 

Although he was mainly focused on the man in front of him, he couldn’t help but guiltily admire the breathtaking quality of the rooms. The walls extended upwards, reaching higher than Hinata could even see. The pillars were all made of this deep, deep obsidian, so black that one’s reflection could be seen in it, hints of gold present as well. They were spotless, and the royal plum-colored curtains and carpets only accentuated its beauty. There were these platforms within one room, each one holding a jewel of varying colors. Everything was so rich, vibrant in its own regard. 

Hinata shook himself out of his stupor, hurrying after Kageyama once again. Soon enough Kageyama had led him out of the castle, where an open expanse of field lay. However this field wasn’t like most others. Although it looked alive, it was as if the vibrance had seeped out of the grass leaving it a muted, pale form of life. It swayed, but the movement of it seemed delayed, almost … lethargic in a way. After Hinata walked for a while, this feeling began building up in him. It was unfamiliar, but most of his feelings here were. Maybe it was dread? But as Hinata looked around, he couldn’t find a reason for it. Regardless, he felt this uneasiness encompass him, head to toe and it just kept building up...and that’s when the wailing started. 

Hinata jumped, the feeling in his stomach increasing tenfold, almost making him nauseous. Kageyama was still quite a few paces ahead of him, but Hinata felt stuck in place, looking around frantically for the source of the defeaning noise. He finally saw it, and it wasn’t just one noise - one scream - but thousands. There were, people? But not exactly, almost like shells of people, wandering around, their skin having taken on this ashy tone. Their eyes were almost sunken in, but it wasn’t the fact that they looked dead that frightened Hinata but the fact that they looked so lost. They didn’t even seem to be aware of the fact that they were wailing, as if it was just a compulsory thing, an unconscious tactic to release the pain building up inside of them. It was, agonizing, to say the least.

Hinata covered his ears with his hands, and ran forward after Kageyama once more.  _ ‘How is he not more affected by this? Has he...has he had to live like this constantly?’  _

At some point the shrieks ceased, and the aching feeling in Hinata’s chest reduced. Not by much, but it at least wasn’t overwhelming. The withered, gray fields began to fade into the background as they approached a much more lively field. Here, it was as if everything returned to normal. Or as normal as something could be in the Underworld. There were trees scattered around, green grass sprouting from the Earth, flowers and weeds dotting the land everywhere. But before Hinata could spend much more time basking in the beauty of the place, Kageyama made a sharp turn into what seemed to be a hidden pathway within the trees. Hinata felt for the top of his cloak, just to check that the hood was still up, and scampered after Kageyama as quietly as he could. 

At first Hinata was bewildered as to how no other soul seemed to have stumbled on this place. That is until he observed how the plants and trees and very pathway seemed to mold itself for Kageyama. How even the shadows cooperated with him, shrouding him from the rest of the world. Shoyo had to follow a lot more closely behind to keep up, for moments after Kageyama had moved from one spot, the plants would seem to swallow the pathway up once again. At some point, Hinata found himself blocked by a thick branch of one tree, the leaves obscuring his view. He ran right into it, stumbling backwards and falling on his behind. Shoyo felt relieved momentarily, that no one else was there to have witnessed such an embarrassing moment, but then realized that the plants had taken advantage of his misstep and covered the ground in front of him, completely blocking whatever footpath Kageyama had been following.

Hinata cursed under his breath and stood up dusting his body off with his hands to get rid of the remains of soil. He looked behind him, for a brief moment considering if this whole endeavor was a mistake.  _ ‘It probably was, but there’s quite literally nowhere to turn back.’  _ Shoyo shook out his arms, and bounced on his feet for a moment, before barreling forward through the rest of the greenery.  _ ‘It has to lead out somewhere doesn’t it?’  _ And soon enough he stumbled through an opening, grabbing a branch to balance himself quickly. Hinata kneeled over, catching his breath, and then quickly straightened up remembering his surroundings. Carefully looking left and right, he double checked that his cover hadn’t been exposed, and with a sigh of relief began brushing off whatever twigs had been littered across him. 

He was trying to brush this stubborn spot of dirt off his cloak when a red glimmer caught his eye. Hinata finally looked up, taking in his surroundings and gave an audible gasp. It was _ glorious _ . And compared to the darkness he had grown accustomed to, it was  _ magnificent. _ It was more of an orchard really, small trees lining either side of a beautifully animated stream. But it wasn’t any normal stream that was rushing down obsidian stones, lying in the middle of the orchard. It was a stream born from fire. It didn’t dance like water did, but glowed, the bright reddish-orange lava casting this intense, warm lighting on the rest of the surroundings. The grass leading up to the river bank and surrounding the trees was a lush green, but not the light type found on Earth, instead being a deep color, unrealistically soft to the touch. Rich purple flowers sprung from the ground, and the tree bark was an ashen gray, with leaves similarly colored to the grass. 

However the most captivating part were the fruits hanging from each of the trees. There were dozens, and they positively  _ sparkled _ . They shone bloodred, their sweet aroma drifting to where Shoyo was standing ten feet away. One of the fruits sparkled especially bright, and after walking closer Hinata realized it was because it was partially open. Inside there were little seeds, rather they were more akin to rubies, filled with juice. Hinata’s stomach rumbled, as if to remind him he hadn’t eaten anything for at least a day. Although gods don’t technically have to eat, food was one of Hinata’s great passions in life.

Shoyo reached for the stem of the fruit, breaking it off the branch. He turned the fruit over in his hand, it was actually quite large, and tried to figure out the best way to dislodge the seeds inside. He hit the outside of the fruit, hoping to loosen some of the seeds, and then put the opening to his hand and shook out. Only five seeds fell out, but it was enough for Shoyo, he just wanted...a taste. 

Shoyo tipped his head back and brought his palm to his mouth, dropping the seeds in. He bit down on them, and a tart, sweet flavor filled his mouth. He closed his eyes in bliss, trying to shake out more pomegranate seeds. 

“Hinata?” 

Shoyo swiveled around at the sound of Kageyama’s voice. A litany of curses went off in his head, and he quickly stuck his hands behind his back, trying to hide the evidence of his stolen fruit. “I-what? Nothing! What are you doing here Kageyama-san?” Hinata stuttered.

“This is my garden, moron. What the hell are you doing here? I thought you  _ ‘didn’t want to spend a second longer in this place, _ ’” Kageyama recited, his voice up an octave as if to mock Hinata.

Hinata’s face flushed at the taller man’s poor imitation of him. “I think I should at least be allowed to go where I want now that you’ve kidnapped me! Unless I really am a prisoner in which case you should probably lock the doors….Kageyama-san?” Hinata trailed off his rant as he noticed the other god’s eyes grow wide, and watched Kageyama slowly approach him.

“Hinata…” Kageyama whispered, his voice rough with what sounded faintly like fear. “What. Is in. Your hand?” He said each word like a sentence, trepidation dripping from his voice.

Hinata jumped when he realized that he had brought his hands to his hips, caught up in his tirade, accidentally revealing the ruby fruit. He knew it was wrong to have taken it, but  _ honestly  _ there was no reason for Kageyama to have such a strange look on his face, it was just one fruit out of at least a hundred. “Calm down Kageyama-san, I just wanted to take a closer look and-what are you doing?!” Hinata’s breath left him as the taller man bent down, brushing his finger across Hinata’s own lips. He swiped it across the bottom one gently, his face achingly close, eyebrows scrunched up uncharacteristically concerned. Hinata’s brain short circuited. 

“Hinata, please tell me this isn’t what I think it is.” Kageyama murmured, the worry in his voice now completely discernable. 

Hinata was prepared to respond when Kageyama brought the pomegranate juice to his own mouth, and tasted  _ what had just been on Hinata’s lips. ‘What is happening, what is happening, what. is. happening?!’  _ Hinata’s brain had apparently been reduced to this one brain cell, only capable of forming this singular thought. 

But Kageyama clearly was taking no notice of the smaller man currently melting in front of him, too busy clutching at his hair with one hand while pacing back and forth. “Shit.  _ Shit  _ this is so so bad.” he mumbled. 

Hinata had to physically shake his head to clear it of whatever hazy clouds were covering it. “What? Kageyama-san, you’re making a scary face, and it’s scarier than normal so that’s saying something. What’s wrong?” he questioned frantically, desperate to understand.

“Hinata… you’re not supposed to eat or drink anything in the Underworld,” he said, resignation evident upon his face. 

“Look I know it’s your food, but is it seriously so bad-”

“No you idiot listen to me!” Kageyama snapped.“The food of the underworld is cursed for those who don’t come from it. If you eat anything, you’re forced to stay in the underworld.”

For a few moments, both men stood there staring at each other. The silence fell upon them, swelling up, ready to burst at any moment. It broke, however, as the pomegranate fell from Hinata’s hand, broke, by the sound of blood pounding in his ears. He blinked once, twice, before he felt waves of horror wash over him. He was… stranded. He looked around at the garden. What had, not even two minutes ago, seemed to be Eden was now no better than a disguised prison cell. He felt the enclosure closing in on him. It kept moving in and it was… suffocating. 

Shock, disbelief, horror all hit him at once, burying him and holding him down like a tsunami. He gasped and stumbled forward, right up to Kageyama, grabbing at him by the front of his toga and pushing him back. If what he said was true then Kageyama was - well, he was all Hinata had now. He didn’t know anyone, or where he was, or even what he was supposed to do now. He laughed morosely, almost unconsciously, despair weighing down on him. _His kidnapper was all he had._ Both he and Kageyama moved backwards frantically, Hinata surprising the both of them, with the force in his grasp. Kageyama started to walk backwards, his feet trying to find purchase on the slippery smooth grass. But Hinata’s momentum brought them both down, and Hinata was on top of Kageyama, shaking him vigorously, panic etched on his face. “No! I can’t be! I need to get out - you _need_ to help me get out! I can’t be stuck here _forever,”_ He whispered the word _‘_ forever,’ the very thought of an eternity down here forcing bile up his throat. 

Kageyama exhaled shakily, opening and closing his mouth for a few moments. “Get a grip dumbass!” Kageyama wrapped his hands around Hinata’s that were currently wound up in his toga. “You’re not stuck here  _ forever.  _ At least, not exactly. With the pomegranates, it’s a special type of trap.” Kageyama flopped his head onto the grass, deliberating the simplest way he could explain. He took a deep breath before propping himself up, staring into Hinata’s eyes. “For each seed you eat it keeps you here for a month...but because the fruit is so delicious, most make the mistake of eating handfuls, and they end up stuck here for years, sometimes decades.” Kageyama cringed at the last part. 

Hinata unclasped Kageyama’s toga, sitting back on his feet, head still reeling. He took a few shaky breaths,slowly processing the information. After a few moments he began to flush red at what was clearly quite an overreaction. 

“Look, Hinata, I’m not sure how many you ate, but it-it isn’t so terrible down her-”

“I ate five.”

“What?”

“I ate five...so that means I’m here for five months. Right?” Hinata said slowly, looking up to confirm his words. Kageyama nodded, eyes still wide. Hinata flopped down on his back, breathing out heavily, body feeling afloat with relief. “Thank the  _ gods _ !” Hinata laughed, “I mean it’s still awful, but five months is really nothing to a god and I don’t have to be stuck down here forever!” he whooped in delight. 

He looked up at Kageyama, expecting a similar reaction, but was surprised to see a flash of hurt across his eyes, before his gaze hardened and he looked away. “Yes… I suppose congratulations are in order. It would be a shame if anyone had to live here for eternity.” he drawled on, contempt laced thick in his voice. 

Hinata shot up, ready to berate Kageyama, yell at him for being so insensitive when  _ ‘he was the one that brought me down here, against my will?”  _ when he stopped in his tracks. Yes Hinata was angry, yes Kageyama was a terrible god but… but he had never seen such vulnerability in the man. Although Kageyama hadn’t said anything, he was clearly trying to build up this protective wall that could shield him from the storm that was Hinata, Shoyo could clearly see the pain in his face, strewn across in his features, and in the way he hunched over on himself as if he fully expected the world to chew him up and spit him out. Hinata closed his mouth, for once at a loss for what to say. 

“We should get going. People are going to question my absence soon.” Kageyama said, voice hollow.

“Alright Kageyama-san. Let’s go-”

“Kageyama? Who the hell is this?!” Hinata flinched at the grating sound of another man's rough voice yelling, and felt his eyes grow wide as a large, looming figure stepped out of the shadows.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *insert dramatic music* who could've followed them! Why do I feel like I put Hinata through a lot this chapter, especially considering he's my comfort character smh. Also, no one judge Tobio, he's doing his best to communicate. Yikes, hopefully this chapter didn't feel rushed, thank you all so much for reading :)


	4. The Rivalry between Equals

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kageyama's secret begins to unravel and Hinata gets a glimpse into Kageyama's mind.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi you guys, I'm back with chapter 4! This chapter was not meant to be this long but it's always the supposed "short" chapters that go on forever...hopefully it doesn't sound like I'm rambling. I had to research greek food for the end there, fingers crossed it doesn't sound dumb! I also introduced some new characters and I tried my best to characterize them accurately. As always, comments and kudos are GREATLY appreciated :). Enjoy!

Kageyama’s head whipped around at the gruff sound of someone else’s voice. His rapid movement threw him off balance, and he plopped on his butt with his hands taking some of the impact, as he stared upwards. He felt his eyes grow wide before he brought his hands over his face, cursing silently under his breath.

Standing there in front of him was Iwaizumi, arms crossed with a scary cross of both anger and panic thrown on his face. He seemed to have grown another two feet overnight and now he was towering over the lord of the underworld. Either that, or Kageyama seemed to have shrunk, panic radiating off him in waves. Iwaizumi opened his mouth, but no words fell out, before he tilted his head to the side in blatant confusion. His thick eyebrows were furrowed, as he scrutinized both gods standing in front of him with a harsh gaze. He stared at them for a moment longer before he turned away suddenly, throwing his arms up into the air. In the next second he quickly turned back around, moving towards them with a finger gestured threateningly at them. He grumbled under his breath, clearly stunned not just by the interaction he had just observed, but also by the fire-haired boy in front of him. Iwaizumi stalked up to Kageyama, grabbing him by the collar and yanking him away. 

“Explain.  _ Now, _ ” Iwaizumi growled out, his voice holding no room for argument. 

Tobio took a moment to regain his balance, after having been jerked up harshly. One of his legs were numb. He played with his fingernails for a moment, before hesitantly glancing up at Iwaizumi’s face. His eyes were wide and he looked like a child who had been caught breaking the rules. Although he looked plenty angry, Kageyama knew his mentor well enough to detect the overwhelming concern that glittered in his eyes. Tobio awkwardly placed a hand on his shoulder, touch light because physical contact made him rather uncomfortable. “Iwaizumi-san, I- I’ll explain everything I promise, just calm down. Please?” He looked at Iwaizumi imploringly, trying to convey with his eyes what he struggled to say with his words. Iwaizumi looked at Kageyama’s hand, before taking a step back, letting Kageyama’s hand fall. He turned to lean against one of the nearby pomegranate trees, waiting for Kageyama. 

Tobio took a deep breath through his nose, and crossed his arms as well, sparing a glance at Hinata. The redhead had been watching the whole altercation with wide eyes, sitting cross-legged, chin propped up by one hand, as his head shifted back and forth watching the exchange between the taller gods. 

Iwaizumi cleared his throat, apparently impatient for the explanation, as Kageyama ran a hand through his raven hair, silently compelling his racing heart to slow down. He felt as if he was at a loss for words, ‘ _ really, what fucking way was there to convey you kidnapped someone without sounding like an absolute monster _ .’ He paused for a second longer before hesitantly starting, “Iwaizumi-san I-”

“My name is Hinata Shoyou!” A squeak originated from where Hinata had sat. He had clearly gotten up sometime in between the exchange and the height gap became especially prominent; his head bowed with the fringe of his orange bangs falling onto his face. “I am the god of spring, son of Demetre. Pleased to make your acquaintance!” The shorter god finally stood straight, face flushed and body shaking with what Tobio assumed was nervousness at meeting such a new and intimidating figure. 

Iwaizumi blinked in Hinata’s direction for a couple seconds before turning back to Tobio, bewilderment evident on his face. “Alright...and what, may I ask, is Hinata-san  _ doing  _ down here, my lord?” The buff man set a fierce stare in Kageyama’s direction. 

Kageyama wrung his hands together, “Well, he uh, he-”

“I was kidnapped by Kageyama-san when we met on Earth and brought here against my will!” Hinata yelped, before bowing again for some unknown reason - a nervous tick perhaps.

“Will you stop interrupting me you moron?!”

“Well maybe I wouldn’t have to if you weren’t too stupid to form a single sentence!”

“Are you  _ seriously  _ calling me stupid? Your head would probably explode if you had a single thought!”

“ _ Enough. _ ” The duo whipped their heads around, mouths snapping shut at the frightening tone of Iwaizumi’s voice. Kageyama looked at Iwaizumi’s face, trying to gauge for some sort of reaction, before dropping his eyes. It didn’t take a genius to figure out Iwaizumi was fucking pissed. His eyes were bulging forward slightly, and Tobio was pretty sure he could actually see a vein popping out of his temple. Iwaizumi’s teeth were slightly bared, something Kageyama hoped was involuntary. “Are you telling me that the boy over here, is a  _ god  _ that you  _ kidnapped  _ when you were illegally traipsing past your boundaries on  _ Earth! _ ” Kageyama was sure there was actual spit that flew from Iwaizumi’s mouth, his vein flaring with every word. On the one hand, Kageyama thought it was safest for him to answer, but on the other hand, it was probably just as safe to not answer considering he was now, definitely screwed. 

Nevertheless, he averted his gaze to the fallen pomegranate, with a mumbled “Yes…” falling from his lips. Iwaizumi swore under his breath, and began to pace again. 

“Do you have any idea how  _ stupid  _ what you did was? No, forget stupid, it was reckless, inconsiderate, dangerous,  _ wrong- _ ”

Kageyama flinched with each word, his shoulder’s bunched with the inevitable  _ ‘King’ _ that would be thrown at his face again. “Iwaizumi-san…”

“No, seriously Tobio. Do you ever think before you do these things? I don’t even know where to start. Remember your banishment? How you’re  _ not supposed to leave the underworld?!  _ And on top of that you kidnapped a god! Kageyama, Hinata doesn’t  _ belong  _ here, he probably has a family, and you just whisked him away? How could you be so selfish-”

“I  _ needed  _ him!” Kageyama shouted, hands clenched at his side. He was shaking, he could feel it in every bone of his body. His entire frame was scrunched forward, head hung low, black bangs covering his eyes. Tobio felt his breath come ragged - words, pain, memories of another life, forcing themselves into his mind, parading around unwelcome, screaming one big ‘fuck you.’ Guilt and sadness didn’t just fill him, it rammed into him, knocked his breath away, created an aching pain deep in his chest. As much as he hated it, tears stung at the edge of his eyes, and they simply taunted him as they dangled on his eyelashes, obscuring his vision. Tobio dug his nails into his palms, leaving little half crescents:  _ selfish, wrong, doesn’t belong here- _

“ _ Kageyama _ . Hey, Kageyama, look at me.” Tobio was jarred out of the prison cell that was his mind, and was met with two concerned gazes that peered into his face. Kageyama finally registered the firm grip on his shoulder, his eyes tracing it back to Iwaizumi. He let out a shuddered breath, and forced his shoulders to relax, blinking quickly to get rid of the tears obscuring his vision. His head slumped forward as he attempted to will the tension out of his body. 

“Iwaizumi I-” his voice cracked, Tobio attempted to cover it up by coughing into his hand, “I’m  _ sorry _ .”

Iwaizumi studied Kageyama’s face for a moment longer, before his gaze softened, the hand on his shoulder loosened, until it just became the comforting touch of a friend. Iwaizumi let go and sighed, ran his hand through his own hair. “It...It’s fine Tobio. Everything will be fine, we’ll work something out. Just calm yourself down alright?”

Iwaizumi exhaled aggressively through his nose once more, and then turned himself towards Hinata who shied away on instinct. “Hinata-san, I apologize for everything that happened. I’ll be your escort and we can go back to Earth okay?”

Kageyama cringed, his ears flooded red. ‘ _ Could this possibly get any worse?’ _

“About that…” Hinata laughed nervously, toying with the edge of his toga, “I-uhm-well I-”

“Yes?” Iwaizumi prompted.

“ _ I accidentally followed Kageyama to this garden and that’s when I saw the pomegranate tree and I ate five seeds and now I’m stuck here,”  _ Hinata’s jumble of words all fell out in one breath, and his eyes were shut as if expecting a harsh rebuke that would slap him across the face.

Iwaizumi blinked aggressively, his brain experiencing an evident time lag in its attempt to process what Hinata just said. He brought his fingers to his forehead and massaged the temple on either side, either to soothe a headache or to push back the vein that was actively attempting to explode out of his skull. 

After an awkward few minutes where both Kageyama and Hinata made eye contact with each other, in an effort to, for once, be silent lest Iwaizumi snap and make the shift from angry to deranged. Finally he dragged his hand down his face, pulling the skin slightly as he went in what could only be presumed as mild agony before fixing them both with a final glare. “Five months? That’s it?”

The pair nodded in unison. 

Iwaizumi trudged ahead of them, leading them all back to the beginning of a pathway in a signal to return back to the castle. “Fine,” he mumbled before looking back to Kageyama, “let’s figure out how to fix the mess you’ve just made.”

\--------

Hinata silently trailed behind the two taller, dark-haired boys, kicking pebbles as they made their way back to the castle grounds. Sure, he loved talking but he still knew how to read a room. The tension between the two men kept building up the whole walk home, its aura dark and brooding, so thick it was as if two storm clouds were floating above their heads, ready to break into rain any second. Although Hinata was never one for enjoying overwhelmingly awkward silences, the walk back at least gave him a chance to think about everything that’d happened. He rubbed at his eyes, the events of the past day, ‘ _ maybe a day and a half? I have zero understanding of time down here,’  _ finally bearing him down with exhaustion. 

The words Kageyama had shouted at Iwaizumi while they were both arguing kept playing in Hinata’s head in an endless loop.  _ “I needed him!”  _ He  _ needed  _ Hinata? For what? The two had barely interacted for an hour, and the few times they did, they were always insulting the other. And it wasn’t like Hinata had demonstrated any distinguished skills other than falling off a tree.  _ Perhaps he wants to make me a servant, use and keep me down here for eternity.  _ But no, Kageyama hadn’t said the words as if it was something he wanted to hide; there was no anger or general ill-will in his tone. Hinata may not be a genius in most things (do  _ not  _ tell Kageyama he said that) but he had always had an affinity for gauging emotions. Kageyama had just seemed so earnest - so genuinely desperate for Hinata. Not just as someone to do his chores, or a plaything to momentarily entertain him. The vulnerability in his voice, the glassy look to his azure eyes that reflected he was ready, no,  _ expecting  _ to be shattered at any moment. It seemed that Kageyama-san was genuinely just...looking for a friend? 

And despite the fact that Hinata  _ hated his guts, his stupid, scary, handsome face, and creepy, ugly, endless, galactic blue eyes, and his silky raven hair- _

He’s definitely straying from his point. 

Despite the fact that Hinata sure as hell didn’t like the god, he couldn’t help his heart when it clenched in sympathy. His body was essentially at war with itself, his brain telling him to get out of here as soon as possible, but his heart telling him to comfort the strange man. At this point it was probably safer for his lungs to take over. 

And while Hinata couldn’t say he was ever  _ alone _ exactly, the idea of loneliness was no stranger to him. Back on Earth, Hinata was the ‘lovely God of the Spring, meant to be doted on and worshipped - playful and free.’ But Hinata never wanted any of that, no, he wanted something  _ meaningful _ and  _ great _ , something  _ beyond him, _ able to match his intensity of love. He wanted something to move forward for, a pathway in his life that could take him up to the top of a mountain. Shoyou wanted his existence to take him so high that he could view the world from its summit, grow wings and touch the sun. He wanted to do  _ so much _ , and he knew he could achieve all of it - after all he only had eternity to do it all. He knew he was strong enough. The problem was, no one else did. No one really understood him, or they underestimated him, and it was lonely. Maybe it wasn’t the loneliness Kageyama felt down here, but it was a type of lonely all the same. 

But Kageyama was quite different. Before the whole, well, kidnapping thing, Hinata couldn’t help but feel  _ drawn _ to Kageyama. Because for the first time in what he supposes was his entire life, he didn’t feel doubted. Sure Kageyama made fun of his stature, but he never claimed Hinata couldn’t climb that tree, nor did he stop Hinata from trying. Even after learning who Hinata was, Kageyama was still willing to get into a screaming match with him, compete with him, yell at him. Even if whatever it was between them, was more like a rivalry, Hinata had never felt so equal, so  _ seen _ . 

Hinata’s head was swimming from the abundance of thoughts that were catapulting inside his brain but, fortunately for him, they had arrived at the castle so he was able to just narrowly avoid severe brain damage. 

Shoyou zipped past Kageyama, about to barge into the palace and demand some food before he was rudely yanked back by the hood of his borrowed cloak. He made an exaggerated choking noise before whipping his head around and glaring up at Kageyama. “What was that for?”

“You can’t just barge in like that moron, people can’t know you’re here.”

“ _ People _ ,” Hinata emphasized, nodding his head towards Iwaizumi, “already know I’m here.” 

“Yes, and I’d like to make sure that number doesn’t increase!” Kageyama growled at Hinata.

“So, what, you're just going to keep me  _ locked  _ in your room for five months?!” Hinata and Kageyama were doing that thing again, where they encroached on each other’s personal space, faces inches from each other. Hinata opened his mouth to protest further before he was silenced by Iwaizumi holding up his hand. 

“Hinata-san, we won’t keep you locked away for months, just...give us a day or two, just until we can figure out how exactly to go about these next five months.”

Shoyou wasn’t exactly sure why they had to ‘go about’ anything, but two days really wasn’t much to a god and he  _ was  _ a fairly considerate person. He pouted a little though, for good measure, before bopping his head up and down. 

Iwaizumi grinned lightly and ruffled Hinata’s hair, while Kageyama scoffed and looked away. 

“But I’m still  _ really  _ hungry, so could I get something to eat?”

\--------

Hinata was currently flopped onto Kageyama’s bed, for what felt like the hundredth time that day. The men had snuck him back into the castle by sandwiching him between their bodies, making sure his cloak was on so he could blend in with the shadows. It was awkward; Hinata stepped on Kageyama’s heels multiple times (a handful  _ might  _ have been on purpose), but he at least got to snicker at how Kageyama would flinch, stiffen up, and then be unable to say anything. 

They had finally arrived at Hinata's room, or technically Kageyama’s, when Hinata felt the need to bring up  _ again  _ how hungry he was. That hunger doubled when Kageyama had informed him he had now been here for almost  _ two days. Two days? Seriously? Honestly, who do they think he is, he’s never missed a meal in his life unless he’s feeling particularly anxious-.  _ After Hinata threw a very mild, but incredibly justified fit, Kageyama placated him, holding his hands out and assuring that he would be back with some food for Hinata. 

Hinata would’ve very well offered to go himself, he was sure Kageyama probably had the worst taste in food, given his bitter personality (yes, he knows there isn’t really a correlation) but he had to ‘stay inside at all times!’ Kageyama made sure to repeat himself at least three times before leaving, to which Hinata did, what he thought was a pretty good imitation, squashing his hair down and grumbling like Kageyama. He got face palmed in response.

Anyways, he was now back in his original holding cell, left with nothing to do but wait. He had already had his daily thought, and although a bath would be nice, he figured he’d bring it up after getting his food. He filled up the time by twiddling his fingers, and then straightened out the covers on the sheets. He walked around something he had broken earlier (he couldn’t remember what) when he spotted some kind of spherical object at the corner of the room. He scampered over to it, picking it up. It was a faded black color, and weirdly malleable. He squeezed it a little in his hands, trying to familiarize himself with the foreign object. He bounced it against the wall a couple times, before trying to jump and spike it down. He smiled to himself, remembering the game his family had taught him back home. ‘ _ Bokuto-san and Akaashi-san were always fun to be around,’  _ he thought fondly, thinking back to how they used to play for hours on end. He twirled the ball in his hands once more and before throwing it against the wall. But this time, when he spiked, his fingers aligned strangely with the ball, and it ricocheted off his hand, before crashing into a vase on the other corner of the room, pushing it off the stand and smashing it to pieces. 

Hinata shrieked, running to the other end before remembering to stop just before he stepped directly on the shards. He looked around for a broom of some sort, and upon discovering none, whistled subtly while swiping the shards under the bed with his sandals. That would probably work - hopefully Kageyama wouldn’t notice till he was back on Earth. He was about to plop back down on his bed, before a soft knocking sound resonated from the door. 

_ ‘Ah, finally! Kageyama-san is here with my food, I’m  _ **_starving_ ** _. He usually doesn’t knock that softly-’  _ Hinata rushed to the door, throwing it open, ready to give Kageyama a piece of his mind for taking so long before he stopped short. Standing in front of him was a short man (still taller than him mind you) that was fairly soft looking. He was quite beautiful, a laurel resting on sunny roots at the top of his head and dark black hair at the ends. His hair fell down in front of his face slightly, but not enough to cover the striking gold eyes that peered at Hinata. His face was also rather sharp, but delicate at the same time, thin lips and a neutral, bordering on concerned expression. 

“You’re not Kageyama.” Hinata said dumbly. 

The man’s gaze narrowed, lips forming a hard line before he mumbled, “No...I’m not Kageyama.” 

“Uhm, well then this is really bad for me, I wasn’t supposed to let anyone see me.” Hinata whispered, hands cupped around his mouth to ensure he was even quieter. 

The man squinted at him again, before clearing his throat, a disinterested look wiping his face again. “Ah. Well, I’m sure whoever the master chooses to bring down to his bed chambers is his business,” his hand was now lightly resting against the doorknob “although I did hear a crashing noise, which is why I thought to check in…” the long-haired man whispered these words as well, although it wasn’t so much that he was actively trying to be quiet, simply that his voice was just that level of softness.

Hinata opened his mouth, ready to assure the other boy that everything was fine, before his words caught up with him. He felt blood rushing to his face, his ear tips grow hot at the implication the feline-like man just made. “That’s not-I’m not Kageyama’s-We’re not associated in that, ehrm, regard!” Hinata squeaked, waving his hands around frantically trying to both cool down his face and expel some of his nervous energy. 

The other man quirked his eyebrow, indicating the slightest amount of amusement at Hinata’s stuttering. “Oh? Then who, if I may ask, are you?” 

Hinata wrung his hands together nervously, biting his lip before looking away.  _ This was the  _ **_one_ ** _ thing Kageyama said I wasn’t supposed to do, I should just lie, I should  _ **_not_ ** _ tell him who I am- _

“Hinata Shoyou, God of the Spring!” Hinata bowed when introducing himself, silently cursing his lack of ability to listen to his brain. He straightened up hesitantly, before asking, “What’s your name?” He knows he probably shouldn’t be interacting with this man any further - that Kageyama had expressly forbidden it - but he’s a fairly good judge of character (Kageyama excluded) and for some reason, the other man's presence comforted him. 

“Kenma Kozume” the man muttered, breaking eye contact to peer at the floor. He was rather shy.

Hinata’s face broke into a grin, he always loved meeting new people! “Well Kenma-san, how about you take me for some food huh? I’m five minutes away from eating the furniture!”

Kenma shot him that scrutinizing look again, before coming to a decision and gesturing for Hinata to step past the door. Hinata scrambled past Kenma, hearing the door shut softly behind them. They walked in silence for a few minutes before Kenma turned to Hinata once again. “What was that crashing noise by the way-”

“Nothing!”

\---------- 

Kageyama had been frantically searching around the room for Hinata for the past ten minutes. He looked under the sheets, under the bed  _ where the fuck did these shards come from-  _ but the excitable god was nowhere to be seen. He tightened his grip on the bed sheet, gritting his teeth in annoyance.  _ I asked the dumbass to do  _ **_one_ ** _ thing.  _ But Kageyama didn’t have time to internally scream at the redhead. If he had snuck out, or wandered off, Kageyama needed to find him  _ now  _ before anyone else saw him. He stood up, leaving the room and closing the door behind him. 

\-------

Kageyama had searched the castle for a while, the first place he visited being the room of jewels. He figured the shorter man might be attracted to such tiny and bright things. But after checking there, and around ten other rooms, Kageyama was close to rushing back outside, because perhaps Hinata had tried to escape, and now he was stranded somewhere in the Underworld where he could be hurt, and  _ Oh gods he needed to find him- _

“Waahhhh this is amazing, Kenma!” Hinata’s voice rang out of a room right as Kageyama was on the verge of panicking. 

Tobio spun around, placing the sound to be coming somewhere from the kitchen. He stormed in, coming to a halt at the scene in front of him. Hinata was currently sitting in between two of Kageyama’s attendants, Kuroo and Kenma, stuffing his face full of the feast that was laid out in front of him. 

Hinata’s small hands couldn’t rove over the table fast enough, one fork delving into moussaka and cutting through the soft layers of eggplant and meat. His other hand latched onto a skewer full of barbecued meat, the aroma drifting all the way to where Kageyama was standing and making his mouth water. There was greek salad, an entire block of feta, gyros, bread, the whole table was full. Kageyama swung on his feet for a moment, a long-absent feeling of hunger striking him like a hammer and actually causing him to drool.

But then his eyes narrowed, recalling his panic a moment ago and he clenched his hands before stomping up behind the redhead, grabbing his fiery hair into a death clutch and trying to ignore how soft it was. “You  _ dumbass! _ ”

Hinata’s initial response was garbled, face stuffed full with food and eyes scrunched up in pain. “Ow ow  _ ow  _ Kageyama let go I’m going to go bald!” 

Kageyama lets go of his hair only to lure him into a false sense of safety, smushing Hinata’s face in his hand the next second. “Where the hell did you go, did you have any idea how  _ worri- _ ” he stopped, just realizing that he was saying this all outloud, “Where the hell did you go?!” he finished, his heart still pounding.

Hinata palmed Kageyama’s face away, smoothing his hands over his toga before indignantly sticking his small nose into the air. “Well Bakageyama, you were taking for-ev-er,” he enunciated each syllable, making Kageyama’s eye twitch, “and Kenma over here offered to bring me some food, which you should’ve been doing.” 

Kageyama sighed, rubbing his hands across his temples. “But no one else was supposed to  _ see  _ you  _ remember?!”  _ he growled, gritting his teeth. 

Hinata huffed, turning away from Kageyama. “You can’t tell me who I’m allowed to be friends with. I like Kenma a lot! And besides, if you really wanted to keep me a secret, perhaps you should’ve come up with a backstory to fool your cohorts.” He turned back, a pout on his face, but his eyes betrayed his true feelings, they glimmered with amusement. 

He quickly remembered the rest of the feast that laid out in front of him and he rubbed his hands together eagerly, reaching for more food before pausing midway and glancing back and staring at Kageyama questioningly. 

“Aren’t you going to...join me?” he asked, as if someone would have to be stupid to reject the grandeur of the feast before them.

Kageyama’s eye twitched again, ready to turn down the offer, make up some excuse,  _ I already ate  _ just about to spout from his lips, until Hinata levelled him with a gaze. “That is, unless you’re scared you won't be able to eat as much as me.” He smirked back at Kageyama. 

  
Tobio’s head nearly blew off,  _ the  _ **_audacity_ ** _ of some people  _ and then tramped over to Hinata, plopping himself down right next to him, their knees knocking slightly before he quickly jerked away. “Next time, try to pick a rival your own size, shrimp. You are totally going down.”

Kageyama beckoned Kenma over, the blonde wearing a much too entertained look on his face. “Kenma, you’ll judge our eating competition. Whoever manages to eat the most in thirty minutes wins. Make sure we’re both eating the same types of foods, and that we swallow everything,” he looked over at Hinata who cackled in excitement, and Tobio felt an equal, unfamiliar, wave of eagerness wash over him. 

Kenma however, was not as on board. Having already witnessed the shorter man's eating habits, his nose wrinkled in distaste at the idea of watching the two gods scarf down so much food. He shook his head lightly, “I think this is something that Kuroo would be more equipped to handle…” 

Tobio just waved his hand once again, too eager with the promise of rivalry and competition to recall he didn’t  _ want  _ anymore people seeing Hinata. 

A few moments later, Kenma trailed back in, a taller, a slightly more frightening man following up. The taller man had spiky black hair, almost like a rooster, with sharp eyes and a cunning smile plastered across his face. He also wore a toga, one end falling down to reveal his chest, and a simple band wrapping around his waist. Kuroo stopped for a second, discreetly analyzing the scene in front of him. His very presence seemed electrifying, his grin only becoming more sly when his gaze landed on Kageyama and Hinata, apparently coming to the same thought Kenma had originally had when seeing Hinata. 

“Well, well, well my lord, who’s the ginger? He’s pretty cute isn’t he?” Kuroo winked at that last part, conveying the implications behind the question weren’t so innocent. 

Kageyama was still staring at the food, his mind taking a full thirty seconds to catch up. He felt a blush erupt across his face, holding his cheeks and ears under a flame once absorbing Kuroo’s words. He shook his head a couple times, attempting to re-activate his brain to no avail. He turned around to glare at Kuroo, an affronted look on his face. “He-no- _ shut up!”  _ Tobio was fully prepared to blow up further in embarrassment, before a giggle to his right stole his attention.

Hinata’s head was thrown back, eyes closed with laughter, as peals of giggles just seemed to bubble and erupt out of him. His smile was radiant, capable of warming everything within a five mile radius. His round cheeks were tinted red as well, but it only added to his charm, as he wiped away a tear from laughing so hard. “Did you-” Hinata gasped for air, “did you see his  _ face _ ? It looked like a tomato set to explode!”

At this Kuroo erupted into a laugh that was a terrifying mix of hyena and walrus, so forceful in its impact that he folded over on himself, startling the other gods (minus Kenma who looked on with vague disinterest). Kuroo straightened up, chuckles still spilling out of him. “You know what Kenma? I like chibi-chan! What’s his name?”

Hinata shot his hundred-watt grin up at Kuroo, before bowing his head slightly “Hinata Shoyou, God of the Spring at your service!” 

Kuroo raised one eyebrow in questioning, to which Kenma responded with a look that said ‘I’ll explain later.’

“Well, what did you want from me Kageyama-san?” Kuroo questioned, a slight tilt to his head. 

Kageyama gestured for him to come over. “Hinata and I want to have an eating competition and we need you to be the judge. Just make sure no one cheats,” he punctuated this with a look to Hinata who gasped offendedly. “Whoever eats the most at the end of thirty minutes wins.” 

Kuroo’s face grew more entertained by the second, and at the end of Kageyama’s explanation he was clearly struggling to contain his laughter. He brought one hand to his mouth, ‘subtly’ trying to disguise it until he cleared his throat and stepped forward, throwing an arm around each god.

“Well then my lords, we should probably re-distribute the food so each of you eat the same dish at the same time. Just to ensure there’s no… cheating.” Kuroo said this last part with as much solemnity as he could muster, but obvious amusement was still glittering in his eyes. 

“You’re taking this awfully seriously, Kuro,” Kenma remarked, the slightest hint of a smile on his face as well. 

“This is extremely serious business! It’s not everyday we have two all-powerful deities gathered for such an important...food eating competition.”

“Kuro, the food is going to cool by the time you actually  _ start  _ judging the competition.” 

Kuroo yelped, snapping the two other gods out of what, one could only assume was a very intense staring competition. (Kageyama had just been about to win.) 

“Okay! Kageyama-san, Hinata-san, sit forward. On your marks...get set...eat!”

Both men shot devilish looks at each other before delving into the food, neither prepared to waste even a second. Hinata jutted an elbow out at Kageyama, nailing him in the ribs and causing him to let out an odd squeaking noise. Kageyama glared back at Hinata, shoving him away, while also grabbing a plate of the nearest food. And so it went on until the chamber had filled with laughter, Hinata’s sundrop giggles, Kuroo’s shrieking cackles. Even Kenma was smiling distinctly now, still avoiding looking directly at the animalistic behavior of the two gods. But what Kageyama had no explanation for was the blush that seemed to never leave his cheeks each time he looked at Hinata’s twinkling eyes, or his button nose - freckles dotting over it. He couldn’t explain why he was drawn to the creases along his eyes, and the way Hinata’s cheeks felt soft, just from looking at them. Tobio simply couldn’t explain how, after centuries of barely breaking into a grin, he was letting out chuckles of his own, this raw feeling inside him too effervescent to contain.

\----------

Kageyama was slumped over the table, his stomach currently threatening to burst out of his toga, and contemplating the necessity of movement because there was absolutely no way he could stand after the meal they had just demolished. 

The outcome of their competition was rather unfortunate, neither god winning, but both losing in another sense with the pain they were currently experiencing from overeating. They had both reached for the last gyro at the same time, their hands shaking and face sweating from their overload. Their hands landed on the plate at the same time, fingers brushing. And while they tried to battle over it, it ended with Hinata tumbling over to the ground (where he was still laying) and Kageyama slumping over the table. The content exhaustion that typically rolls over one after a long day and a hearty meal apparently hit the duo at the same time.

Kageyama rolled his head to look over at the little redhead that was lying on the floor. He had evidently fallen asleep, and was in a star position, limbs stretched haphazardly. His orange bangs were flopped over his forehead, the fringe just barely over his eyes that were now closed ever so softly. His stomach was rounder from the meal, gently rising and falling with each breath. ‘ _ Cute’  _ Kageyama thought before mentally backtracking and slapping himself. Despite his body’s protests, he sat up, blaming the thought on sleep deprivation and fullness. 

He looked around for a solution to escort the currently passed out god back to his quarters. He would ask Kuroo, but he was otherwise  _ occupied _ , head resting in Kenma’s lap, asleep while Kenma played with his hair. Kenma looked up from Kuroo’s face, fixing Kageyama with a sharp stare, eyes moving from Shoyou’s body back to Kageyama, he gestured a little to the door with his head. 

Tobio huffed, realizing what the only solution was. He bent down, placing one hand delicately under the smaller man’s head, and the other lower, under Hinata’s knees. He lifted the god who he remembered being surprisingly hefty, and brought him closer to his chest. He took a moment to marvel at just how soft Hinata’s hair was. Tobio felt strangely overwhelmed with the urge to run his fingers through the fiery curls, before snapping himself out of his wild impulse and walking forward.

Hinata suddenly curled himself into Tobio, nestled his head between the crease of Kageyama’s elbow and bicep, pressing his arms against his chest. It was most probably not a conscious choice, his body simply drifting closer to the other source of heat. Kageyama  _ told  _ himself this, but still found that his heart was set on erupting with butterflies nevertheless. He hefted the god higher, entranced in the utterly precious moment that enveloped them like a warm blanket. That is, until the moron opened his mouth, drool escaping from it onto Kageyama’s elbow and toga. Kageyama grimaced, considering dropping the god right then and there. But Hinata simply looked too peaceful, and even Kageyama wasn’t bitter enough to disturb the ginger in his well deserved sleep. Besides...he did truly look adorable.

Kageyama finally reached his chamber, looking from the god in his arm to the door and deliberating on the best move. He awkwardly lifted his foot, a dangerous balance between shifting too much and waking Hinata up, and then actually getting the door open. After a few tries the door handle moved, pushing the door open slightly. Kageyama pushed it open the rest of the way with his back, and then carefully stepped to the bed. He leaned down over it, depositing the little ball of energy onto it as softly as he could. He made sure Hinata’s head was resting comfortably on the pillows, before drawing up the blankets, making sure to cocoon Hinata in them as if he was a toddler. He snickered at how the smaller man looked, before turning away, and walking to the door, closing it gently behind him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> When do you think the fools will realize their feelings smh.  
> IMPORTANT! So I have been trying to stick with weekly updates, but I'm anticipating the next few weeks to be super busy with school and extracurriculars, etc. so I might not be able to stick to a strict update schedule. I will do my best though, I adore writing about kagehina <3


	5. The Eye of the Storm

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kageyama and Hinata navigate the water's of a new friendship.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys, finally back with a new chapter! I wanted to start off by apologizing for my late post, school has gotten ridiculously busy and I was swamped with work. Hopefully you guys enjoy the chapter, I know I enjoyed writing it.  
> (Suggestion:when you get to "Shoyou turned back to Kageyama, whose face was turned towards the ground, black hair falling so it covered his eyes." start listening to This is Home by Cavetown!)
> 
> Also, my lovely friend made some amazing artwork of Hinata in his sky blue toga for this chapter! I'll attach a link below, and also make sure to check out her instagram @Kilshouu.  
> https://imgur.com/a/YJYxNaV

A golden chariot was drawn through the sky, rich brown stallions freckled with gold and white galloped with it in tow. Two men stood, one was at the reins and guided the horses with ease and clear practice. The other man stood, eyes sharp, looking through some sort of enchanted telescope. Their eyes scorched every inch of the land beneath them, searching and searching. The man at the reins was tall, with vivid golden eyes that gleamed like the moon in a midnight sky. He had eccentric hair, most of it frosted white and the hair closer to the roots closer to black. There were evident smile lines at the corner of his eyes, but the man wasn’t smiling now, face grim and fierce. The man that stood next to him was shorter, with messy, curly jet black hair. His features were masculine and feminine at the same time, with ivy green eyes and a delicately upturned nose. However he now stood with a matching expression to his company. 

The owl-like man whipped the reins once, muscles bunching and jaw set with angry determination. The pegasi began their descent downwards, wings extending gracefully as they swooped down. The chariot aimed for a patch of grass, free of trees, and landed straight in the center, gently. The buffer man leaped off the chariot, landing on the ground with a thud that seemed to shake the very soil. His eyes were practically set ablaze, illuminated even in the midst of day. Any creatures nearby shied away from the scene, sensing danger in each of his steps. He was about to set forward, prepared to leave a fire in his wake, until he felt the soothing hand of his partner on his shoulder. 

“Bokuto-san…” The beautiful man fixed Bokuto with a stare, compassionate but forceful nonetheless. He gently rubbed his palm back and forth on the silver-haired man in front of him, seemingly conveying his words through motion, touch alone. “I understand you are angry right now, but we must be careful. One misstep and we could truly lose him forever.”

Boktuo searched Akaashi’s eyes, the gears in his brain turning before his shoulders slumped forward with defeat. His fierce expression crumpled as well, pain clearly etched into his furrowed eyebrows and lips set in a hard line. “Akaashi, we _need to act_.” Bokuto said, rubbing his own palm across his face tiredly. “If we’re too slow we might still lose him.”

Akaashi stepped closer, placing his hand on Bokuto’s chin and slowly tilting it up. He peered into Bokuto’s eyes, shifting his hand so that it cupped Bokuto’s face. Bokuto leaned into the touch, eyes shut in sadness. “I miss him too Bokuto-san.” Akaashi whispered. 

Bokuto’s eyes scrunched up, trying to fight back tears before he lifted his head, running his hands up his face in frustration, and through his hair, practically pulling it. His eyes were still closed as an onslaught of emotions, thoughts, fears pummeled his mind. Bokuto began breathing harder, clenching and unclenching his fists that were resting at his sides. He took a few deep breaths, and finally opened his eyes which were illuminated once again. He surveyed the area in front of him, as if trying to detect something. After a few minutes it was clear he had come up empty handed, whatever or _whoever_ he was searching for unattainable. 

Bokuto’s whole body was shaking with red hot fury, and he stormed up to the nearest tree, needing to purge the anger that was filling his veins. He bellowed, a scream of agony, fear, rage exploding in the sound waves of his release. He punched the nearby tree, the entire trunk uprooting and launching forward from the impact. It shot through the forest, leaving destruction in its wake, and the sound of it crashing seemed to reverberate for miles. Bokuto crumpled to the floor, clutching at his head while Akaashi stood in the back, panic and sorrow painting his face. 

\--------------

Hinata woke that morning with a pleasant feeling warming his chest, burrowed within silky soft blankets. He yawned loudly, pushing the blankets off and flopping onto his back. He blinked his eyes a couple times, trying to shake away the sleepiness that rested on them before rubbing at them blearily. He yawned again, and lifted his arms, stretching languidly. He stretched his legs out too, flexing his toes and rolled to the other side of the-

“WAH!” Hinata rolled straight over and off the bed, almost face planting into the ground. Fortunately he had taken half the bedding and a pillow as he fell and it softened his fall. He laid on the ground for a couple moments, sighing into the pillow that was cushioning his face. Shoyou finally made the grueling task of standing, just as someone knocked lightly on his door. 

Hinata kicked away the bedding, straightening out the toga he was wearing that had become horribly wrinkled. “Coming!” Hinata chirped, suddenly feeling a lot more energetic as the sleep got, quite literally, knocked out of him. He skipped over to the door, greeting a placid face and feline eyes. “Morning Kenma!” Hinata shot a bright grin at the other boy who averted his gaze at the direct eye contact, the tiniest fraction of a smile gracing his face. He rubbed his arm before looking up to Shoyou once more. 

“Why is it every time I show up to your quarters you’re wreaking some sort of havoc?” he questioned with a slight upward quirk of his eyebrows. 

Hinata spluttered indignantly, inching slightly to the left within the doorframe so that the blonde didn’t see the disarray the room was in. “I am not wreaking h-havlock!” He said with a huff, turning his nose up. 

Kenma bit his lip lightly, trying to contain his laughter. “ _Havoc_ , Shoyou.”

“Yes that!”

Kenma shook his head fondly, before opening the door widely, gesturing for Hinata to follow him. Hinata zipped past the blonde, skipping and jumping, apparently filled with boundless energy at the promise of a new day. “So where are we going? I’m hungry! How long did I sleep for? Is it morning, I can’t tell? Can we get some breakfast?”

Kenma blinked a couple times, evidently unused to such abundant energy. He opted to answer one question at a time, trailing softly behind Shoyou. “I was actually taking you to get breakfast now...we have everything prepared already. You slept for around eight hours so it’d be morning back up on Earth. And, after breakfast we thought it would be good for you to take a bath and maybe some new clothes?” He looked up at Shoyou at the last question, apparently expecting some sort of affirmation. Hinata nodded excitedly, the thought of food and a hot bath extremely appealing. 

“Oh, but I don’t need any new clothes! I can just wash this toga.” Shoyou looked back at Kenma with a grin, before skipping forward again. 

“Ah, well, Kageyama-san specifically said he wanted us to provide clothes for you. He told us he wanted you to have enough to last the duration of five months and that you could pick out whichever ones suited you best.” 

Hinata stopped in his tracks, stunned silent at the uncharacteristic hospitality of the normally grumpy god. He narrowed his eyes at Kenma, “You...you told him to do this didn’t you? There’s no _way_ he would’ve come up with it on his own.”

Kenma merely shrugged, looking straight forward before saying, “Ordinarily, you’d be right. Kageyama isn’t really the one to hand out gestures of kindness. But this time, he truly was the one who proposed the idea.” Kenma looked down suddenly, a sly and knowing smile spreading across his face. “Although he was blushing an awful lot, even though he tried to deny it.” He said softly. 

Hinata felt his own face flush for some reason, lifting his hands to his face to cup his cheeks as if trying to absorb some of the overwhelming warmth that had suddenly traveled up there. He shook his face, hoping Kenma hadn’t noticed his sudden shift in demeanor at the mention of the raven haired man. Shoyou barreled forward, suddenly running. “Come on Kenma, I’m starved!”

“Shou, watch out!” The blonde called after him, and Hinata had a split second to turn before he barreled straight into someone’s hard chest, knocking them both over onto the ground with his impact. 

“What the hell Hinata!” Kageyama laid below Hinata, splayed across the ground. He propped himself up and sent a murderous glare at Hinata who cowered slightly before recovering, placing his hands in front of him in karate position. 

“What? You wanna fight?”

“Do I want to-no I don’t want to fight, I want to be able to walk for five seconds without you wreaking havoc everywhere you walk!”

“What’s with everyone and this hafoc thing?!” Hinata shrieked, turning his face around to glare directly at the other god before taking in how close he was. 

He was currently sitting on the god’s lap _‘Oh my_ **_god_ ** _’_ his hands resting on the other man’s chest for balance. Their faces were inches away, and Hinata stared intensely at the cherry-tinted flush that was adorning Kageyama’s face. It was as if time was moving through molasses, and Shoyou was hyper aware of every movement that was made. Kageyama shifted under his hands and Hinata tensed. He breathed out slowly against Hinata’s face and he felt his eyelashes flutter. Butterflies, no, _fireworks_ were going off in Hinata’s stomach, his heart intent on pounding against his ribcage as if trying to escape. He swallowed roughly, eyes quickly studying the taller man’s strong nose, his pretty, high sloping cheekbones and sharp jawline. His skin looked silky, as if it was sculpted from marble. His inky black hair looked unrealisticly soft, the fringe at the end falling just above his eyebrows. Hinata wouldn’t dare look into the god’s eyes lest he do something _incredibly_ stupid that he would later regret. 

_“Ahem_ ” Both god’s were snapped out of their daze at the sound of someone clearing their throat behind them and quickly turned their faces to the direction of the noise. Kuroo stood above them both, smirking devilishly, eyebrows quirking upwards. Both men scrambled away from each other, limbs flying, and Hinata stood up quickly, brushing off his toga and feeling his face set aflame yet again. 

“So you both have gotten rather comfortable with each other haven’t you?” Kuroo said with a poorly concealed look of amusement. Kageyama shot an angry look in the taller man’s direction, but Kuroo remained entirely unphased. Kuroo opened his mouth to say something else before something kicked on the back of his knee and the impact caused him to crumple over. 

Kenma stepped over him, opting to ignore his blatant assault and placed a hand on Hinata’s shoulder. “Come on Shoyou, let’s get you something to eat.” 

“Kyanmaa! Why do you love the shrimp more than me?!” Kuroo screeched from the ground, apparently fatally wounded. 

The blonde once again opted to ignore his counterpart, beckoning for Hinata to follow him. Hinata looked back to Kuroo’s figure on the ground, nodding sympathetically at his plight before following Kenma. Kuroo looked over to Kageyama who scoffed and looked away, as he held out a hand out to help Kuroo up. The man’s cheshire grin spread across his face again as he accepted the hand and sprung up. The pair began walking behind Kenma and Hinata, a good foot away from each other and silence enveloping them until Kuroo looked towards Kageyama, smirking once again. 

“You know Kageyama-san, you have perfectly good bed chambers you could take Hinata to instead of doing it in _public-”_

“Oh shut _up_!”

\----------

Tobio sat against a pillar in front of one of the palace chamber’s, mindlessly tracing the patterns of the carpet that covered the floor. Immediately after Hinata had eaten breakfast, which also happened to turn into a contest of who could fit the most grapes in their mouth (Kageyama won), Kenma and Kuroo escorted Hinata to the bathing chambers. Kageyama had requested Hinata get the finest soaps, oils, and that his bath be heated to the perfect temperature, feeling it was the least he could do after...everything. However what Tobio hadn’t anticipated was that the dumbass would take over an hour bathing and getting ready. He couldn’t shake the boredom he was experiencing without the excitable redhead by his side. Not that Kageyama would ever admit it, it was mortifying enough to even be _experiencing_ such an unprompted emotion, considering he’d been without Hinata for centuries. 

Kageyama sighed, slouching against the pillar before snapping his fingers, a gold plated nail filer appearing from thin air. He began restlessly filing down his nails, somewhat of a coping method than anything else. He had just gotten to his right pinky when the doors to the dressing chamber finally opened. He got to his feet sluggishly, tucking the nail filer back into his pocket and turning around to greet the shorter god. “ _Finally_ you’re done, what the hell took you so long-”

Tobio’s brain fizzed out when Hinata finally stepped out of the room. He was talking and laughing with Kenma, but it wasn’t his conversation that had stunned Kageyama but the shorter god himself. Hinata tilted his head back and laughed bright and clear, and suddenly it was as if all the light in the room had been drawn to him. No, not drawn, it was as if light itself was fucking _born_ from him. He was radiant _._ Kageyama stared wordlessly at Hinata, his heartbeat picking up until it thrummed like a hummingbird was trapped inside and furiously beating its wings against his chest. Hinata wore a light blue toga, it’s color resembling the sky right after a rainy day and the straps covering both his freckled shoulders. Adorned all over the god was gold, he wore a delicate gold belt around his waist, gold bands wrapped above his forearm and right below his toga on his thighs. His hair was decorated with vivid dandelions, the yellow flowers sat prettily on top of his fiery hair, and one was even tucked behind his ear. Kageyama could barely breathe.

The pair stopped in front of Tobio and Hinata finally turned his star filled smile in his direction. “Hi Kageyama!”

Kageyama was still struggling to form words, too captivated by the smaller man’s vibrant hair, made even fluffier and curlier from the bath. He could almost feel it under his finger tips. Hinata’s eyes positively glimmered, his long eyelashes fluttering in contentment. His freckles dotted his cheeks like flecks of gold on a barren earth, and they stood out even more from the lovely flush on Hinata’s face after his hot bath. 

An ache hit Kageyama’s chest and his fingers tingled with the need to map out every one of Hinata’s features. But he was snapped out of his trance when he noticed the confused looks he was receiving. He realized he’d been staring quite sometime without saying a single word, and the god in front of him had probably been having an entire conversation. Kageyama usually never paid Hinata’s rambles any attention but it was usually because he was ignoring him. Now he was entirely lost in the spring god’s presence. 

“Uh Kageyama? Are you alright, you’ve got a really stupid look on your face.”

Kageyama shot his hand out, about to grip the shorter man’s hair out of embarrassment and anger until he realized he didn’t want to disturb any of the flower’s resting there. He quickly changed and squished Hinata’s face between his hands, but the contact felt like he was putting his fingertips on a flame, it seared through him in the best way. “Sh-shut up moron! you took five years in the bath and you’re asking if I’m okay?” 

“You’re the one who offered it!” 

“Yes, but I didn’t expect to grow roots here waiting for you!”

“Well you probably have a thirty second attention span with the size of your brain!”

“You-” Kageyama started, until he realized there was a third party watching the whole exchange and that he had been holding Hinata’s face for far too long. “Just don’t take so long next time.” He grumbled, quickly releasing Hinata’s face and toying with his own fingernails. Tobio turned away, walking forward stiffly and willing the blush on his face to go away. 

Hinata scurried after him with Kenma trailing slowly behind, an awkward silence filling the air until Hinata opened his mouth. “I-well, I did want to thank you Kageyama. The bath, everything was really...nice.” Hinata laughed hesitantly, unused to showing appreciation to the taller god. 

“The range of clothing you had for Hinata-san was really quite extensive Kageyama-san.” Kenma chimed in quietly from the back. 

Kageyama felt his face heat up again and stopped in his tracks. So what if he might have gone a little overboard with the clothing, one hundred toga’s really wasn’t that much. He didn’t know what Hinata liked for gods sake! He wanted Hinata to have options, to pick out whatever was the most comfortable. And offering a few dozen different sets of jewels was simply...routine. So really, he hadn’t gone overboard at all. Kageyama shook his head and began to start forward again until a warm, soft palm was placed against his arm. Tobio stiffened at the touch, turning back to look Hinata in the face. 

“Really Kageyama, thank you.” Hinata said sincerely, smiling up at Kageyama, his eyes shut with the wideness of his grin. 

Kageyama felt another round of firecrackers set off in his stomach once again before pointedly turning away. “It was really nothing I’m...I’m glad you’re happy. The clothes, uh, suit you.” He mentally bashed his head against a wall for being so transparent. 

When Tobio turned back to Hinata the smaller god had a rosy blush painting his face but his eyes were sparkling. Hinata giggled somewhat nervously, rubbing his hand against the back of his neck sheepishly. “Thanks Kageyama!” The three began walking forward again, Kenma silently observing the whole interaction. 

_‘They’re both stupid.’_ He thought exasperatedly, as the pair in front of him continued to bicker with each other, oblivious to the walls that were being broken down and the flowers that blossomed in the conversations they shared. 

\------------

Hinata was currently face down on the ground, panting into the grass and sprawled out in a star shape. He groaned and turned over, pointing his gaze upwards to the seemingly endless roof of the underworld. There was no sky down here, but the expanse was still magnificent in its own regard. Hinata gasped a couple more times before turning his face to the side, looking at Kageyama who was in a similarly disheveled state.

“That’s twenty three wins for me, twenty four losses, you’ll be eating my dust in no time Bakageyama.”

“In your dreams dumbass, you probably cheated for half of the rounds.”

“I never cheat!” Hinata gasped offendedly. 

It had been almost three weeks since Hinata had arrived in the Underworld, and the pair had begun to fall into a bit of a routine. Shoyou would wake up, go to breakfast and then take a bath. Kageyama would always be waiting for him outside the chambers, and they’d spend most of their day together. They would argue about nothing for an hour, compete against each other with different sports, and then share a meal together. Usually Kageyama would have to leave for a few hours in the evening every other day, attending some underworld god business as he put it. But he’d always return for dinner and they’d eat together while Hinata would tease him endlessly about nothing and everything, filling up his time with blushing faces and sapphire eyes. 

And of course, Hinata missed Earth, he missed his family _dearly_ , but it seemed like he had found an unsuspecting group of friends down here. When Kageyama was busy, Hinata spent his time with Kenma and Kuroo, they would take turns braiding each other’s hair, Hinata and Kuroo had found a ball that they made up games with, and Hinata was always good at finding ways to spend his time. 

Recently though, Kageyama and Hinata had gotten into the habit of racing one another, their competitive natures shining through and clashing at every moment. They tallied their competitions, and although Kageyama was in the lead, Hinata never gave him a moment’s rest. The first time they had raced had been overwhelmingly fun, and Shoyou couldn’t contain the laughter that bubbled out of him. There had been no words spoken, just an exchange of glances and the pair knew what the other was thinking. They had been walking outside the palace, along the Asphodel Meadows and Hinata started speeding up his pace with Kageyama following shortly behind him. Soon enough, the two had begun full out sprinting through the plains, the tall grass tickling the bottom of their feet and their sides. Hinata felt wind rushing through his hair, and a fiery glow filtering through the trees from the River Phlegethon. Hinata wouldn’t dare look back, but he didn’t have to question for a second that Kageyama was behind him. 

The taller god had been right at his tail, so Hinata bent his head forward, pumped his arms faster, pure adrenaline and giddiness pumping through his veins. And Hinata wasn’t sure if it was his imagination, but the whole area seemed brighter, more alive. The grass was greener, the trees were dancing in the wind, and the entire plain was washed with this orange-gold glow. It was like looking at life through a kaleidoscope, and he wasn’t sure if the sudden shift in perspective was as a result of the running, or the twilight god behind him. 

Hinata had lost that round, but he didn’t truly care. He didn’t care because in Kageyama’s eyes he could see the promise that there would be many more. 

And now, three weeks later, Hinata was practically at Kageyama’s heels, a point away from being on equal ground. They were so _simple_ but these competitions were nothing short of exhilarating. 

Hinata stood up with a groan, grimacing at the grass stains that littered his toga from when he collapsed. He pushed himself off the ground and stood with a little bounce, happiness fueling his energy. Kageyama pointedly looked away, crossing his arms, apparently reluctant to admit defeat. His bottom lip was sticking out in a pout, one that Hinata had pointed out repeatedly and the man refused to admit. Hinata giggled devilishly, before extending a hand towards the raven-haired man who was still sitting on the ground. 

“Come on Kageyama-kun...you don’t want to be a sore loser now do you?” Hinata smirked. 

Kageyama scoffed before hesitantly accepting the hand, sliding his palm against Hinata’s. Really, Shoyou should’ve anticipated the butterflies that went up in his stomach, they’d taken permanent residence the past few weeks. His palm burned where Kageyama’s fit in so perfectly, but before it became strange, Hinata hoisted Kageyama up and quickly dropped his arm back to his side. 

“So, where to next?” Hinata asked, praying the hopefulness didn’t bleed into his voice. It wasn’t that he actually _wanted_ to spend time with Kageyama, he was just...bored. Or at least that’s what he was telling himself Hinata rubbed his upper arm with his knuckles, looking up to Kageyama as he waited for a response. 

For some reason Kageyama’s mouth was in this wobbly line, as if he was actively trying to suppress a smile. He looked at Hinata and then back ahead, neutralizing his expression “We should probably get back, I have matters to attend to.”

“Ah, right.” Hinata wanted to facepalm himself, how could he forget that Kageyama always left around this time. “You’re leaving later than usual aren’t you?”

Kageyama’s ears flushed red, and he cleared his throat before awkwardly saying, “Oh, I guess I must’ve...lost track of time.”

Now it was Hinata’s turn to blush, the statement inexplicably flooding his senses with a sunny warmth from his toes to his head. He stared furiously at the ground, trying and failing to suppress the smile that was spreading across his face. Hinata shook his face a couple times before looking up and starting forward. He skipped around the taller god, energy tingling across his skin despite just having run half a mile. 

“So Kageyama, what _do_ you do for your official Underworld business?” Hinata said the last part with a scowl, pushing his hair down on his face, imitating Kageyama. 

The other god shoved Hinata’s face away, and Hinata snickered at how easily riled Kageyama got. “Shut up, moron.” Kageyama scoffed.

Hinata laughed out loud and bright, and a comfortable silence befell the two as they trudged back home. After a couple moments, Hinata opened his mouth again. “No really Kageyama-san, I’m interested. I’ve never really had an important job of my own, so I would love to hear about yours!” He said the last part with a beam shot in Kageyama’s direction, hoping it would butter up the other god enough into giving an explanation. Another moment of silence passed, and the smile on Hinata’s face wavered as he noticed the guarded expression that now covered Kageyama’s face. He reached a hand out to comfort the god, having it hover just behind the man’s shoulder before pulling it away. “Kageyama? Kageyama it’s fine, you don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to. I was just curious.”

Kageyama looked over at Hinata, and then faced forward again, exhaling through his nose and his features relaxing as he apparently came to a decision. “No it's...it's fine, there’s just a lot to it and I-,” he paused, brows furrowed as he searched for the right words. Hinata remained silent, understanding by now that Kageyama struggled to express himself. “I am the God of the Underworld.” He stated finally. Hinata tilted his head to the side, confused. But Kageyama obviously wasn’t done. “And one of my biggest roles is the trial of the souls.”

Hinata felt his eyes grow wide, despite still not fully understanding what that entailed. “Alright...what exactly is that?” Hinata prompted. 

Kageyama turned his gaze towards the ground, growing awkward and hesitant once again. “It’s hard to explain. The trial of the souls is, essentially, a trial where we determine where a human soul gets to travel to in the Underworld after they’ve died.” Kageyama explained, gesturing his hands around as he spoke. “The Underworld is divided into sectors, there’s Elysium for the pure souls, the Asphodel Meadows for the neutral ones, the Fields of Mourning for those souls that never moved on from the tragedy they experienced in their life.” Kageyama counted each section on his fingers, releasing a shaky breath before continuing. “And the last one is-”

“Tarturus.” Hinata finished, chills running down his arms at the whisper of such a horrid place. 

Kageyama nodded solemnly as he continued to explain. “We judge their actions during their lives before deciding where they get to go. Those who’ve done more bad than good, they go to Tarturus. There’s no place for the wretched here.”

Hinata tilted his head, confused and a bit uneasy. “But, do you ever look at why they did what they did?” Kageyama shot the god a perplexed look, clearly not understanding the question. Hinata continued nervously, “I mean, you don’t know why someone might have done something bad right? What if they were abused, or, I don’t know, hurt so they felt forced into something?!” 

Kageyama still looked entirely baffled, before opening his mouth. “Wrong is wrong Hinata. It doesn’t matter why someone was motivated to be evil, evil always faces justice.” 

Hinata shook his head, gesturing wildly. “But you can’t possibly declare someone is evil Kageyama!” Hinata’s voice began to raise at this point, so taken aback by the entire situation. 

Kageyama stopped in his tracks to stare back at the redhead. “What do you _mean_ Hinata, of course I know who’s evil. That’s my job.”

Hinata just shook his head, a tense silence falling over the two. Hinata felt cold again, uneasiness blossoming in the pit of his stomach. Something about the whole ordeal just felt wrong to him, gave him a feeling he couldn’t explain but couldn’t ignore either. He grit his teeth trying to shake it out of him. _‘This is Kageyama I’m talking to. I’m sure everything is under control, he’s been doing this for centuries, he knows what he’s doing.’_ Hinata felt his shoulders relax slightly, as he attempted to breath slowly. 

The pair were in front of the palace gates now, before Hinata remembered something. “Kageyama, before you said ‘we’, does someone else work with you?”

Kageyama visibly stiffened, his shoulder’s and back tensing up as he turned to Hinata. They were both facing each other, the palace gates to the side. “I-well, there are people below-.”

“Oi, King!” Someone barked ten feet away from them. The pair turned away and Hinata saw two men trudging forward, both slightly taller than Kageyama. One had hair that was falling down his face, split apart his forehead like a curtain. A bored expression was painted across his features. The other man had hair that was spiked straight up with an annoyed look on his face, bushy eyebrows slanted downwards as he frowned. Hinata immediately thought _‘turnip head’_ , and turned to whisper that into Kageyama’s ear before he caught the look that was on the taller god’s face.

It wasn’t fear, not exactly, but a mixture of emotions, none of them good. Sadness definitely flickered across his eyes, and his entire frame seemed to reduce in size, as if he was curling in on himself to lessen fatal damage. Kageyama’s arms were stuck to his sides, and his palms were clenched into fists. Hinata watched as Kageyama took one breath, then two, and his expression melted away into one that was threatening, guarded. His eyebrows were scrunched, and he glared fire from his eyes. 

This evidently had no effect on the other two gods who were finally standing in front of them. The other man still had a neutral expression, but Turnip-head didn’t seem to hold the same sentiment. “Where the hell have you been Kageyama?”

Kageyama’s face went from threatening to angry. “Who the hell do you think you’re talking to Kindaichi?” He growled lowly. 

Kindaichi flinched slightly and took a step back, but he was apparently determined to hold his ground. “Don’t threaten me Kageyama. You’re at least two hours late, we finished the trial ourselves. We get that you don’t care about anyone else, but you still have responsibilities you owe to the rest of us.”

“Oi, watch your mouth-.”

But Kindaichi just shook his head, stubborn on finishing. “You already don’t do _anything_ down here Kageyama, the least you could do is show up. You can’t even be bothered to come to your own trial, and here I thought we were dealing with a dictator! Finally letting the rabble take care of your dirty business?”

Kageyama was evidently shaking, whether it was from holding back or fear Hinata wasn’t sure. 

“Listen, it’s your fault we’re all stuck down here, you _owe_ _it to us_ to do your damn job. Or are you determined to be selfish forever?” He punctuated his words by harshly stabbing Kageyama’s shoulder with his finger. Kindaichi finally slumped back, having said his part. Hinata observed how he trembled slightly too, an arm on his shoulder as the other man by his side tried to calm him down. All three men looked away from each other, staring at various places on the ground. Hinata looked from Kindaichi back to Kageyama, a decision forming in his mind.

“You have a lot of nerve speaking so rudely.” Hinata said, voice barely above a whisper but grounding nonetheless. 

The other three men’s gaze shot to the shorter god, who looked up, fixing them with an utterly intense stare. His eyes were almost glowing, so powerful with just one glance. 

“Who the fuck are you-”

“I don’t think I have to be anybody to know that you’re being terrible. I don’t know who you are, or what Kageyama has done to you, but I think it would be in your best interest to just walk away.” The redhead's presence was growing despite his actual stature remaining the same. His stare never left the men’s faces, and he tilted his head to the side, somehow making him more intimidating. 

Kindaichi took a couple steps back, before Hinata’s hand shot out, gripping him by his forearm and grounding him in place. “And next time you choose to have a conversation, it’s basic manners to not ignore either party.” Hinata squeezed Kindaichi’s arm painfully and then let go, and the two other men turned around quickly, walking away. 

Shoyou turned back to Kageyama, whose face was turned towards the ground, black hair falling so it covered his eyes. He trembled every few seconds, and all of a sudden Hinata was struck with a vision of a fallen king. His armor was battered from the world’s endless torments, crown cast to the side as he accepted imminent defeat. Hinata’s heart cracked just a little at the sight. He placed his hand on Kageyama’s arm, pulling him towards the gate to lay on the ground. 

Kageyama all but collapsed, falling to his knees. Only now did Hinata see how bad his state was, the god’s eyes were wide and horrified, his mind clearly in a different space. His breathing was coming out shallow, and every breath seemed to wrack his entire body, as if his very skin was too tired to hold up this shell of a man. Tears glimmered in his eyes, dampening his eyelashes and wetting his fragile face. Kageyama sat against the gate heavily, his back making a thudding sound as it made contact. 

Hinata felt tears of his own build up. He didn’t care what Kageyama had done, that he probably didn’t know the whole story. Kageyama was clearly not okay, a cracked piece of glass drowning in the ocean, or under the weight of his mind. And Hinata knew firsthand what that felt like.

Shoyou couldn’t help it, he fell to his knees as well, shooting forwards to the other god, and wrapping his arms around him. For a few moments Hinata held Kageyama at arms distance, hesitantly wrapping his arms around his shoulders, ready to pull it off at any moment. But Kageyama still wasn’t calming down, his breathing just as rattling as it had been. 

_‘Fuck it.’_ Hinata abandoned any caution and tucked Kageyama’s face into the space between his neck and head, forcing the god to bury his nose, his entire face into Hinata. They were pressed chest to chest, and Hinata could feel Kageyama’s tremors, and if he pressed just a little closer it was as if he could feel Kageyama’s heart beat too. 

Hinata felt hot tears escape his own eyes and more fell onto his shoulder as Kageyama cried onto him. Kageyama wasn’t loud though, he cried silently as if he felt he wasn’t allowed to show this much pain. Shoyou slowly wrapped one hand around the nape of Kageyama’s neck before sliding it up into his hair. He clutched onto Kageyama’s back furiously, holding onto his toga for life. Hinata couldn’t say it, but he hoped his message was clear. _‘This burden is not for you alone to hold.’_

Hinata buried his nose in Kageyama’s hair, running his one hand soothingly through its strands and the other in comforting circles on Kageyama’s back.

“Shhh, shhh it’s okay. Everything will be fine, I’m here.” He continued holding Kageyama, even after the raven-haired boy's body stopped wracking with trembles, even as his breath slowed down and his tears began to dry up. Hinata held onto Kageyama until he felt the god’s arms wrap around Hinata’s waist as well.

The two clutched onto each other, finding peace, finding the eye of an invisible storm in each other’s embrace. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> IMPORTANT! Again, I might not be able to keep up with weekly updates, I'll try my best to come out with the next chapter, but I wanna take my time with the writing, so we'll see~


	6. A Painful Beginning

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Where we finally learn about Kageyama's past.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! Sorry for the freakishly long wait, I have had an insanely busy few of weeks. Anyways, I thought it was about time to delve into Kageyama's past, so this entire sequence is written in italics, it's meant to be a flashback. I apologize if it seems choppy or rough, angst is really not my forte. This chapter's main conflict was meant to encompass some pretty dark things, so I'd just like to say keep an open mind.   
> IMPORTANT: I will add the tags, but there are descriptions of panic attacks, mild nausea, and intrusive thoughts in this chapter. I really put Tobio through it :/

_ Kageyama was currently on Olympus, sitting astride his throne restlessly, excited for his upcoming task. His face was rounder, eyes bright and shiny, and although he wasn’t outwardly smiling his entire face spelled happiness. He fiddles with his fingers, pulling out his nail filer and putting it back, and then pulling it out again.  _

_ “You’re going to end up stabbing someone with that if you keep whipping it out so quickly.” Someone to his side remarked, seemingly appearing on the throne next to Kageyama from thin air.  _

_ “Hello Suga-san” Tobio responded, ignoring the playful remark and instead bowing his head forward slightly.  _

_ Suga just smiled and ruffled Kageyama’s hair before resting down on his throne. The older god was rather handsome, silver, wispy hair sticking up messily on his head, his eyes chocolate brown and a beauty mark right below his left eye. His eyes sparkled with mischief but his face was overwhelmingly kind, and Suga rested his head back against his throne, straightening out his sea blue toga.  _

_ “Has Tooru arrived yet?” _

_ “Oikawa-san never shows up on time Suga-san.” Kageyama responded, just a hint of exasperation showing through. _

_ Suga did nothing but laugh, his eyes crinkling and smile wide. He turned over to Kageyama, a touch of a smile still present on his face. “Tobio, you can drop the honorifics. We’re brothers after all.” _

_ Tobio just shook his head, before resting his elbow on his throne, cheek on his palm and turning to the silver-haired man. “You know it has nothing to do with our relationship Suga-san. It’s just what I’m most comfortable calling you.” _

_ Suga’s smile slipped just a fraction and he opened his mouth to say something before he was cut off by a silky voice. _

_ “Ahh both my brothers always showing up right on time. I’m sure you showed up an hour early eh? Tobio-chan.” The brunette-haired god said Tobio’s name cheekily, almost taunting, as he smirked down at the younger god. _

_ Kageyama scowled, his bottom lip sticking out in a pout as he looked down. So what if he was a little early, his job was important! He then felt a hand on his shoulder and looked up to see Suga standing in between the other two gods, one hand gripping Tobio’s shoulder as he sat and the other gripping the taller god’s shoulder.  _

_ “Now Oikawa, there’s no point in teasing Kageyama when you were five minutes late.” Suga said this last part sternly, punctuating it with what he believed was a playful slap to Oikawa’s back. _

_ Oikawa bent over slightly, huffing out a breath at the impact, before straightening up, the teasing look in his eyes gone, replaced by a much more determined look. “I suppose you’re right Suga. We better get started then, I heard we have a particularly gruesome case today on top of our thousand other ones. We should get to work.” _

_ Tobio took it as his cue to stand up, a wobbly grin on his face as another bout of anticipation fizzled in his stomach.  _

_ It wasn’t that Tobio’s job as one of the big three was inherently pleasant, just that it was so significant, it made Kageyama feel special. He, along with his brother’s, had always been gods of great power, predestined for greatness. And this greatness finally came into play when they acted in the Trial of the Souls. _

_ Each of them had the job of acting as judges over all living human souls on the Earth. At a tipping point in each human’s life, the three held the ability to make the decision on whether or not it was worth that individual continuing to live their life. _

_ If the human had been traumatized, was deemed irrecoverable, were scarred too deeply to heal, sometime’s they’d make the decision to take their Earthbound lives and send them to the Elysium. If the human was suffering in this moment, but had the potential to blossom into something more beautiful, they were given the opportunity of continued life.  _

_ But most frequently, the god’s would study the actions a human took during their life. They’d weigh the bad with the good, make a decision on whether a human was worth the life they were granted. For someone who was clearly meant to be evil didn’t belong on Earth, or Elysium, or anywhere that still held light.  _

_And while the decision to ultimately take those human’s lives wasn't pleasant itself, Kageyama took pride in the fact that he was overwhelmingly_ _fair and accurate in making these decisions. Of course Suga-san was skilled in his own regard, but he often tended to take sympathy on those who didn't quite deserve it. Oikawa made these mistakes less frequently, but they were still present._

_ But Kageyama, well, they liked to call him a genius. Every person he decided to let live continued on to greatness, and those who were sentenced to death were always deserving. He was eerily accurate, and he always felt a glow cover him when he was praised for his ability, reminded of the importance of his job. He absorbed a human’s life instantaneously, was immediately able to weigh evil actions against good and come to a precise judgement. _

_ And so, while the killing, the death, wasn’t entirely pleasant, it was necessary and it was  _ **_just._ ** _ Kageyama basked in the warmth and fufillment of making the Earth a better place, person by person. And besides, it wasn’t Kageyama who ultimately had to kill the humans. No, that job belonged to Kindaichi, Kunimi, and Iwaizumi. _

_ After the decision was made, the trio would go down to Earth, disguised by Mist, bow and arrows slung over their shoulders. They would quickly and deftly shoot down those deserving, no unnecessary pain. And while their job had plenty of glory, Kageyama relished the control he had in his. _

_ It was safe, it was important, and it was necessary. So when the day of the month came, when the Trial of the Souls was held, his body filled with eagerness to fulfill his duty once again. He was a little newer to the role than Oikawa and Suga, being younger than them, he was introduced to the job a little later. But he caught on fast, leaving a trail of fire and storms in his wake. _

_ Kageyama stood straigther, felt compelled for some reason to shake out his arms just to expel some of his excess energy. Tobio snapped his fingers and his scepter appeared, dark ebony, sleek and well-fitted to his hand. Suga stood to the left of him, a trident materializing in his hand. He also seemed to feel a little restless, evidence through the way he was roughly gripping at his trident and then flipping it from hand to hand. Finally Oikawa stood in between them, a pure white scepter materializing in his hand.  _

_ If anyone else were to look at the three gods in all their glory, they’d be presented with a stunning picture of a mixture of colors, three brother’s who were only brought closer by their differences. Black, blue, and white, the earth, water, and sky. These were the big three.  _

_ The three walked out of the throne room, stance held tall, made to be even taller by one another’s presence.  _

_ \------------ _

_ Kageyama dropped his head to his hands, barely biting back a groan of frustration. It seemed that his brother’s were in similar states, having experienced one of the longest trials in their thousands of years. Suga was sprawled across the floor on his back while Oikawa was pacing around the trial room, his normally perfect hair, disheveled from having been pulled at. _

_ The trial room was expansive, circularly shaped in structure. Concentric to the room were tall pillars, evenly spaced from each other and a pristine, marble white. The roof of the room itself was a magnificent dome, with the sky being visible through it. In the middle stood a large, similarly marble table, onto which mist was currently projecting events from this particular human’s life.  _

_ They were dealing with a gruesome case, and while they had finished their thousand other one’s rather rapidly, this specific individual was taking hours of debate. It was currently nighttime, the first time a trial decision would have to extend into the next day. Iwaizumi, Kindaichi, and Kunimi were sent back to their rooms, and the other three gods had been in here all day, currently at a stalemate on their judgement.  _

_ The human was a seventeen-year old female, who was currently huddled up on an abandoned street, shivering in the cold and in hunger. Actually by now, she wasn’t even shivering, she was barely moving, her body’s necessities having been neglected for so long. It was only a matter of time before she died, and it was entirely dependent on the three god’s decision. _

_ However this wasn’t the issue between their judgement. Rather, it was this particular human’s actions that had led her to this path. She had experienced a horrific childhood, filled with abuse and manipulation. It had clearly taken a profound impact on this girl, for one morning she was found standing over her parent’s bodies, covered in their blood, knife in her hand. _

_ And to prevent any misconceptions, yes she was indeed the one that murdered her own family. Which had, in turn, left her homeless and begging for scraps. One day, she was particularly hungry, and became insistent towards this one woman who was holding three loaves of bread. The girl believed the woman could spare just  _ **_one_ ** _ , but the woman took one look at her face and kicked her to the side. _

_ Infuriated, dejected, and starving, the girl followed a woman, down twisted cobblestone streets, and into an abandoned alleyway. That’s when she chose to spring, jumping on the woman and fighting the bread out of her hands. She beat, kicked, and scratched the woman in her fight, and in one stray movement, the woman’s head made harsh contact with the alleyway’s brickwall. There was a sickening crack, an expelling of breath, and then nothing other than the blood that pooled from the woman’s head. _

_ And the girl stood above her, triumphant in being alive, but lost in how to continue living after what she had done. She would never find out, but that woman was holding onto that extra bread for her children, who similarly, hadn’t eaten a proper meal in days. Now those children were motherless, as a result of this starving girl on a street.  _

_ The decision was, pretty fucking clear to Tobio. This girl didn’t deserve to live, didn’t have a reason to, was a life that had been wasted and turned into something rotten. He simply couldn’t understand the point of conflict. _

_ But it was Suga’s contention that this girl was not a reflection of her actions but a product of circumstance. She was greatly traumatized, but it wasn’t irrecoverable. Tobio thought that was a load of bullshit. _

_ And while Oikawa wasn’t as sympathetic, he believed the girl should be punished, he just wasn’t as set on that punishment being death. If anything, that pissed Kageyama off more. Oikawa  _ **_always_ ** _ did this,  _ **_always_ ** _ acted like he was all that just because he took the middle ground. Well to Kageyama the middle ground was equivalent to inaction, and this girl wasn’t worth some half punishment, where was the justice in that? _

_ He didn’t know how else to say this, but this girl  _ **_murdered_ ** _ three different people. She destroyed a family, inadvertently or not. Where was there any redeemability? And even if she was given a chance, the likeliness of her recovering from her trauma was slim to none.  _

_ Kageyama looked up from his hands once more, ready to start the argument over again before Oikawa held up his hand. Both Suga and Kageyama quieted down, respectful toward’s Oikawa’s commanding presence.  _

_ “We’re not getting anywhere by going around in circles.” Oikawa finally said, putting his hand down and fixing each god with a stare. “We might as well sleep on this, make our decision in the light of morning so it can guide us to the correct answer.” _

**_‘What the fuck does that even mean?’_ ** _ Kageyama thought brashedly. He opened his mouth to say as much, before Suga nodded as well. Tobio’s head whipped to him in disbelief. How could they do this? This was unprecedented, they  _ **_always_ ** _ came to a decision by the end of the day, and the fact they’re prolonging the inevitable when the decision is just so clear. _

_ “Oikawa-san, Sugawara, this is ridiculous, we need to stop beating around the-” Kageyama sputtered in indignation, but came to an abrupt stop when both god’s fixed him with a glare. It was one thing when Oikawa did it, the god had always held some sort of animosity towards him. But Sugawara was looking angry as well, and that simply felt like a knife in the chest. _

_ Kageyama faltered, cutting his speech short and looking down at his sandaled feet. He nodded slowly, despite the anger bubbling in his chest, forcing his fists to clench and fire sear his veins.  _

_ Suga’s gaze softened, and he shook his head slightly, approaching Kageyama slowly but surely. “Tobio...everything will be fine. It is our responsibility as gods to not just make a  _ **_just_ ** _ decision but a kind one, a  _ **_human_ ** _ one.” _

_ Kageyama still pointedly looked downward, confused and unwanted shame burning his cheeks. He didn’t know why he felt ashamed, his logic still made perfect sense to him. But something about Suga’s eyes was compelling Tobio, begging him to understand. And Kageyama wanted to, of course he did, but just  _ **_what_ ** _ he was supposed to understand he was unsure of. How could they, as gods, be expected to make ‘human’ judgements. What was just in humans? They wreaked havoc amongst themselves, acting as catalysts for their own pain. The three gods had been doing this for centuries, so why was today, this hour, this  _ **_moment_ ** _ any different? _

_ Suga’s soft palm slid from Kageyama’s shoulder, falling to his side. His expression was concerned, eyebrows drawn together and lips slightly pursed in a pout. Suga turned around, walking back towards Oikawa who had been standing there with a stoic look on his face, not a flicker of emotion flashing across.  _

_ The gods shared a look with each other, before turning around and pushing the wide double doors open, the air of a crystal bright night sky intermingling with the stuffiness of their dome. Suga and Oikawa walked forward, solemn and silent, while Tobio stood in the middle of the room. _

_ He felt the breeze from the wind blow into the room, but instead of gently caressing his skin, it felt like it pierced right through him, leaving goosebumps and a chilly ache deep in his bones. The wind blew again, stronger this time, and filtered through Tobio’s hair, lifting it up and clearing his bangs out of his vision. Tobio looked up slightly, and the first thing that came into his line of sight hit him stronger than the wind, filled him with determination to act.  _

_ Kageyama slowly trudged forward, standing next to the door frame and allowing it to support his weight. He placed his own hand on his other shoulder, running it up and down to distract himself, to give something for his antsy fingers to do. Tobio looked up, watched as Oikawa and Suga moved down the long marble path, becoming small, insignicant dots in the distance. _

_ Once he was sure they were out of sight, he chose that moment to strike. He slipped fully out of the doorway, lightly sprinting down the pathway, but choosing to take a different route than Oikawa and Suga. He ran forward, looking backwards every few seconds to make sure he wasn’t being followed.  _

_ Kageyama finally reached his destination, another dome room, smaller than the last but still significantly large. It too, had pristine marble walls, but all the gold plating that was found in the other room was absent, instead it had a simple and clean presence. This room wasn’t intended for meetings of the divine, it was someone else’s living quarters.  _

_ Kageyama rapped his knuckles against the front door, knocking quickly but as quietly as possible, sparing one more glance around. As he stood in front of the door, he impatiently played with a loose thread he had found on his toga, suppressing the urge to bite on his meticulously filed nails. _

_ After a couple more moments the door swung open, and a fiery light tumbled through, washing Iwaizumi’s figure in a warm glow. Iwaizumi looked tired, bleary, as if Kageyama had just woken him up-which, come to think of it, he probably had, considering the time.  _

_ “Iwaizumi-san, I’m sorry for waking you up at this hour but I have some urgent news to deliver.” _

_ Iwaizumi rubbed at his eyes, the solemn look on Kageyama’s face waking him up a little. “What is it Tobio? Has something happened?” _

_ Kageyama opened his mouth before closing it again, faltering. Was he really going to do this? Was this acceptable for him to do? Tobio knew they would reach the impending conclusion to their trial, knew what their decision would inevitably be. This was what was fair, what was just, he  _ **_had_ ** _ to do it if he wanted to do the correct thing, he had to make a decision, time and others be damned. He had never been wrong before, if only the others wouldn’t hold him back, if only they could keep up. _

_ “We came to a decision for the most recent case.” Kageyama’s voice rang loud and clear, despite the turmoil that raged like an earthquake inside him. He willed his hands to keep still, for the heavy feeling sinking to the pit of his stomach to dissipate. _

_ “Oh? Well, why don’t you come back tomorrow morning, and Kindaichi, Kunimi and I can head out-” _

_ “No, it is of utmost importance you go now.” _

_ Iwaizumi cocked his head to the side, confusion and the slightest hint of concern falling on his stern expression. He opened the door fully, gesturing for Kageyama to step inside but Kageyama shook his head stiffly, determined to make this as short of a visit as possible.  _

_ “Kageyama, I’m not understanding the urgency, what...what decision have you come to that requires us to go down to Earth now?” _

_ Kageyama fixed his stare anywhere but at Iwaizumi’s eyes, before steeling his features and looking up. “We have reached a sentence of death. The girl must die.” Kageyama’s words cut through the air like a silver knife, preemptively sentencing the girl to her fate.  _

_ Iwaizumi still looked bewildered, and unsettled by the heavy weight of the air around him. He cleared his throat before suggesting, “Maybe I should ask Tooru before jumping to any rash conclusions-” _

_ “Do you not trust my judgement? Am I not at the same standing as Oikawa? Am I not as capable?” Kageyama whispered harshly. Don’t question my decisions. Go and get the other two and be on your way, I want this completed quickly.” Kageyama’s voice grew with each word, remembering at the last minute he didn’t want to draw attention to himself. He shuddered out a breath, clenching his fists at his side, his chest rising and falling. _

_ Iwaizumi looked stunned, never having seen Kageyama in such a state. He nodded slowly, not wanting to upset the rampant god anymore. He took a couple steps away from the door, turning his back slowly and casting a glance back at Tobio. The god’s frame was lit up by the moon, but the shadows were cast over his face, hiding the god’s ocean eyes. His normally bright face was twisted up, mouth set into a scowl, and hair covering his sight. Iwaizumi felt a tendril of fear shoot up in his body, but whether it was for the god or because of him he wasn’t sure. _

_ Kageyama heard his footsteps fall back into the room, and after another few moments both Kindaichi and Kunimi were slowly pacing forwards, clearly having just been woken up as well. Iwaizumi wasn’t far behind them, grabbing a cloak and beginning to get ready for the journey.  _

_ “Iwaizumi-san, what’s going on?” Kindaichi yawned. Kunimi blinked sleepily beside him, posture slumped. Iwaizumi opened his mouth to respond before he was cut off. _

_ “Don’t just stand there like two useless lumps. Get ready! Move faster, get ready quicker, we don’t have time!” Kageyama barked at the other two gods, startling them from the dredges of sleep. Kindaichi scowled while an annoyed look crossed Kunimi’s face. But the two knew better than to argue with the god in such a state, so they turned to Iwaizumi for an explanation. _

_ The man looked wearily at Kageyama before explaining. “The three came to a decision for the most recent case. We must go down to Earth and carry out the punishment.” _ _   
  
_

_ Kindaichi opened his mouth, before a frustrated huff emitted from Kageyama and he snapped his mouth shut. Kunimi and Kindaichi exchanged glances before turning away and getting ready at the same rate as Iwaizumi.  _

_ It was only twenty minutes later the four stood at the end of the pathway to Olympus, the next stop a passageway between earth and the heavenly abode. There were arrows slung across the three’s backs, each of them carrying a bow, and Iwaizumi holding an extra shield in his other hand. Kageyama scrutinized the three, unknowingly muttering under his breath. After his inspection, he took a couple steps back, snapping his fingers and causing a mist image to appear. _

_ In the image was the girl, still huddled up against the cold snowy floor, tears cascading down her face and wetting her cheeks that had already lost their sensation. Kindaichi swallowed thickly, Kunimi stiffening up beside him and Iwaizumi gripping harder at his shield. _

_ “This is your target, I’ve already given you a map that indicates her precise location. I expect swiftness and efficiency, you all should be back before the sun rises. Any screw-ups and you’ll have me to deal with.” Kageyama growled out his last orders. The other three men straightened up, nodding their affirmation to Tobio, before turning away. A doorway appeared, seemingly from thin air, and Iwaizumi hesitantly reached for the handle, before finally twisting it and pulling the door open. The three hastily stepped through the portal, the door making a resounding slamming noise as it finally fell shut. _

_ Kageyama stood in front of the door, arms crossed. After a minute, his arms slowly fell to his sides, his fingers for once loosely hanging. After a few more minutes, Kageyama’s whole body began to shiver, and his legs felt inexplicably weak. He slumped onto his knees, still staring hopelessly at the door as a feeling of guilt and terror finally broke loose, consuming his body with darkness that felt like it was from the deepest depths of the sea.  _

_ \------------ _

__

_ Tobio was currently pacing back and forth in his own room. He looked terrible, eyes sunken in and dark circles under them. His normally sleek hair was stuck up in patches, as if the raven-haired boy had been pulling at it. Kageyama’s toga was wrinkled, and there were bite marks, scratches covering both his hands. Currently, Tobio was working another bite mark into the tip of his finger, as he chewed at his nails.  _

__

_ He only looked half as worse as he felt. The entire night he’d been fighting back bouts of nausea, hunched over a sink with his breath rattling his lungs, gasping breaths clawing their way out of his throat. Tears blinded his eyes, and sometimes it was so hard to breath he felt he was battling against a wave that was trying to drown him.  _

__

_ He harshly wiped the tears off his face and proceeded to slowly straighten up, a numb, icy chill falling over his body. As the first streams of daylight began to filter in, Kageyama felt nothing but dread, the normally golden beams seeming grayish and muted. He finally paced towards an empty chair, sitting on it and then drawing his knees up so he could bury his head behind it.  _

__

_ “Fuck, fuck, fuck.” Tobio muttered under his breath, a ringing filling his ears as he began to tremble once again. He took in another shuddering breath, glass shards acting as replacement for the air, filling up his lungs and creating infinitesimal cuts within his lungs. He felt as if he was burning up, bleeding inside, and he tugged roughly at his hair to distract himself.  _

__

_ A pounding at the door shocked him out of his stupor, and his head shot up. There was silence for a moment before the rapid knocking started again. Kageyama’s stomach lurched, and it felt like someone had poured ice water down his back. He slowly unfurled his arms from his legs, hesitatingly putting one down at a time. Tobio got to his legs shakily, approaching the door achingly slow. _

__

_ “Kage-Tobio, dammit, open the door!” Kageyama could recognize Suga’s frantic voice from behind the double doors. He felt tears sting his already swollen and puffy eyes, and he reached for the door handle, his hand trembling.  _

__

**_‘It’s fine, it’s just Suga, he probably doesn’t even know what I-what happened.’_ **

__

_ Kageyama slowly opened the door, and Suga’s worried face peered inside. Suga burst through the door, talking a mile a minute while Kageyama stood still trying to placate his features.  _

__

_ “-And I don’t know what’s wrong, but Iwaizumi, Kindaichi and Kunimi look terribly shaken, and they won’t tell us anything and Oikawa’s worried sick so you need to come immediately so they can find out what happened.” Suga rambled on, pacing rapidly back and forth and gesturing wildly with his hands. _

__

_ Kageyama finally turned around, his stomach turning again as he took in the state of unrest Suga was in. The man looked awful, his wispy, gray hair all over the place and his normally jovial face looking like it aged years. Tobio swallowed thickly, feeling the lump go down his throat. His hands and legs trembled every few seconds, and he clenched and unclenched his sweaty palms, nails biting into the soft skin.  _

__

_ “Suga I-” Kageyama started.  _

__

_ But Suga wasn’t paying attention, still pacing around and now biting at his thumb nail. He was muttering under his breath, his mind clearly going a mile a minute and completely unnerved.  _

__

_ “Suga-san!” Kageyama raised his voice the last time, finally capturing the silver-haired man’s attention. Suga stopped abruptly, turning to face Tobio with his eyebrows and forehead all scrunched, nail still being chewed at.  _

__

_ Kageyama tried breathing in yet again, although it served no real purpose. The ringing was back, but he had to do this, he couldn’t watch Suga act this way. “I...I have to tell you something Suga.” _

__

_ Suga’s head tilted to the side, his forehead only furrowing further at Kageyama’s clear struggle. “What is it Tobio? Did something happen to you too?” _

__

_ Kageyama’s nails were biting so hard into his palms that he could feel the skin raw and stinging underneath, no doubt a little blood forming. He chewed at his bottom lip, before finally flexing his fingers out of fist position and straightening up. “I know what happened to Iwaizumi and the rest.” He finally said, staring straight at Suga.  _

__

_ Suga’s eyes widened before he took a few steps forward and grasped Kageyama's shoulders. “Really? Well then let’s go right now, we can tell Tooru-” _

__

_ Kageyama cleared his throat and Suga’s voice faltered. Tobio grimaced, his mouth turned into a scowl and his eyes stormy. “It was my fault.” He finally whispered, shoulders slumping a little.  _

__

_ Suga’s hands fell from his shoulders as he took a step back, trying to peer into Tobio’s face. “What?” He prompted, concern washing his features.  _

__

_ Kageyama looked down further, his fringe covering his eyes. A tear dropped from his eye, falling down the slope of his nose and finally down onto the ground. His entire figure shook. “It was my fault.” He repeated brokenly. “I sent Iwaizumi down to murder the girl from yesterday’s case.” Kageyama didn’t dare look up, well aware of the look on Suga’s face. _

__

_ Suga’s eyes were blown wide, and his mouth was slightly parted. He looked absolutely horrified, disbelief, worry, nausea, shadowing his face. He opened his mouth to reply before a voice behind them growled out.  _

__

_ “What. the fuck. Did you just say?”  _

_ Tobio whipped around, and found himself face to face with Oikawa. Kageyama’s eyes widened for a second before he steeled his features, turning completely to face him. _

__

_ Oikawa was looking straight forward, his face all twisted and contorted with rage. He was clearly trembling too, his fists clenched and his entire presence seemingly radiating anger.  _

__

_ Kageyama stared at him head on, before repeating, “I sent the three down to Earth to take care of the girl.” _

__

_ For a moment there was nothing but silence, and it was electric, ready to break into a hurricane in the next second. The three gods stood in a line, preparing for a wave to crash over them. And then it was broken. _

__

_ “You...fucking...piece of  _ **_shit!_ ** _ ” Oikawa lunged forward, rage bubbling forward, eyes shattered and wide open with fury. He wound one of his fists back, and Kageyama’s face turned away, preparing for impact, ready to feel his fist connect at any momen- _

__

_ When nothing happened Tobio slowly opened one eye, peeking at what had happened. Oikawa was only a few inches from him, his arm appearinly still drawn back to strike. However another tanned arm was holding it in place, and as Oikawa’s chest heaved, Iwaizumi appeared from view. His face was incredibly concerned, eyebrows drawn furrowed and mouth set in a scowl. He yanked Oikawa back, not painfully, but just forcefully enough so the other god was snapped out of his blind fury and forced to look into Iwaizumi’s eyes. Iwaizumi stared deep into Oikawa’s face for a second, his mouth saying nothing but his eyes conveying a hundred words.  _

__

_ Suga was still glued in place, his hands covering his mouth, eyes red and glistening with unshed tears. His eyelashes were damp, and he slowly moved his hands from his mouth, only for them to fall at his sides, defeated. He swallowed roughly, before taking a few steps away and around Kageyama. He made sure to stay far away, never turning his back once on Tobio, as if he was prepared for the god to attack at any moment. Suga finally stumbled to Oikawa who was hunched over, and gripped hard at the other god’s shirt.  _

__

_ In all this while, Kageyama stood, numb, disconnected, wishing to be scattered away. After a swelling moment of silence, Suga finally stood straight, facing Kageyama fully.  _

__

_ “Kageyama...I don’t even know what to say.” Suga’s voice broke a little, the whisper shattering. He took a deep breath before starting again. “Words cannot even encompass the atrocity of what you’ve done. You have not only taken a life, but you’ve broken many more. You’ve broken Iwaizumi, you’ve broken us, Kageyama...you’ve completely broken our faith.” _ __   
_   
_ __ Kageyama’s eyes welled up with tears, a knife finding residence into his rotting heart. 

__

_ “I almost wish that this is all a dream, that I’ll wake up tomorrow and nothing will have changed. But Kageyama, you have changed things, forever. You-.” _

__

_ “You’re a monster.” Oikawa rasped from beside Suga, eyes still set in a glare. _

__

_ Kageyama felt his heart shatter. He felt a million jagged pieces piercing his skin, his organs. He felt his heart as it stopped beating. It was as if the world shifted under him, he could almost see a chasm stretching further and further between him and the others. Tobio looked up in fear, vision blurred and distorted. He stumbled forward, shoving past the other two gods, out of the doors. _

__

_ Kageyama felt himself trembling, and slowly but surely he began to quicken his pace until he was in a full on sprint. His feet pounded against the ground and his lungs shook with every breath but he could barely feel anything, too focused on the ache in his chest and numbness in his mind. Kageyama ran down the entire pathway, not sure of where he was going until he finally almost pitched straight over the end of the pathway. He stood there for a moment, looking at the vast space ahead, breathing heavily as tears streamed down his face. His hands shook by his sides, and his skull pounded as he fought back waves of pain.  _

__

_ Kageyama waited a few more moments, willing his breathing to slow. He exhaled slowly, little tremors racking his body. Finally he snapped his fingers, and a doorway appeared. He reached his hand towards the handle slowly, lightly grasping the knob. Tobio just needed some time to clear his head. He took in one more slow breath before opening the door and stepping through the portal. _

_ \----------- _

_ Tobio wasn’t sure where the portal took him when he stepped out. It’s powers were to take you to where you desired, but he couldn’t remember explicitly thinking of a single place. Stepping out of the oaken door, he walked straight into a snow covered street. Snowflakes were falling down and there was an icy chill in the wind. He was a god, so it didn’t directly affect him. And on any other day it would be beautiful. But in this moment it served as a reminder to what stormed inside of him. _

__

_ He walked forward on the cobblestone path which was littered with busy people pacing around here and there. No one took notice of him, it was one of his godly powers to blend in when the situation called for it. He trudged forward in the bleak weather, staring straight and unfocused. Forcing himself to snap out of it, he stopped in the middle of the street and looked up. His eyes were closed and slowly Tobio took in a few breaths, the air finally soothing his lungs and clearing his mind. He opened each eye slowly staring up into the crystal blue sky. A snowflake gently fell and Tobio traced it with his gaze until it landed straight on his nose. He relished the freezing cold that spread across his face. It was like being splashed with a dose of reality. He finally knew why he was here and what he had to do.  _

__

_ Tobio wasn’t exactly sure where he was going when he started walking again. But he knew he’d end up where he needed to, he could feel an invisible string pulling his heart. He saw as the beginning of sunrise guided him to where he was supposed to go. Everything else blurred out and he just kept walking. One more step, just to keep going forward.  _

__

_ His pace grew quicker as he felt himself drawing closer to his destination. Finally he stopped in his tracks, sensing that he was meant to be somewhere around here. It didn’t take much looking to discover why he was led to this area, for in front of him was a small procession of people, all carrying a casket to a burial site in front of them. Kageyama’s breath was punched out of him, immediately realizing who it was.  _

__

_ There were barely a handful of people, seemingly just the ritual keeper and then the other strangers offering a helping hand. There was no gathering of family as the casket was placed into the ground. There were no broken voices or falling tears. Just a simple prayer uttered by the priest wishing the body’s soul a safe passage. _

__

_ It was the girl’s body.  _

__

_ It was her body under that limestone grave, a tombstone with no epitaph or last words. It was her body up on that isolated hill, away from everyone else, alone until the very end. She was the one whose life was taken away before anyone on Earth could even remember her name.  _

__

_ Minutes passed, maybe an hour, and Tobio stood stock still, frozen in place. He didn’t know if it was due to the blizzard that raged around him or the one that had broken loose inside him. After some time, the priest finally recited their last prayer, and the scattered people there left. That was when Tobio felt his body pull him forward. _

__

_ Sandaled feet sinking into the snow, Kageyama stumbled up the hill, legs wobbly and just barely supporting his empty body. He tripped, falling into the snow, just barely bracing his face from falling deep into it. He tried to push himself up, but fell again, on his hands and knees, halfway up the hill where the girl he murdered resided. He swallowed hard, he could feel as his throat bobbed underneath him, bile fighting its way out. Tobio’s eyes were blown wide open, his blue irises somehow black in the lighting. He planted a fist into the ground and shoved himself up, the string attached to his cracked heart compelling him to move forward.  _

__

_ He finally fought his way up the hill, making his way to stand directly in front of the tombstone.  _

__

_ For a few moments time stood still. The wind didn’t blow, the trees didn’t shake, snow ceased to fall. It was as if the air particles themselves stopped their movement, in preparation for what was about to come. Any onlooker might’ve mistaken the scene for tranquil, but little did they know that the silence was simply the world giving Tobio space for the war that raged inside of him. At last, the quiet was broken by the cry that clawed its way out of Tobio.  _

__

_ The boy fell to his knees, landing harshly, with a crunch into the snow. He threw his head forward, resting his hands and forehead on the ground. _

__

_ “I’m  _ **_sorry!_ ** _ ” He sobbed into the snow. “I’m  _ **_so so sorry!_ ** _ ” He bowed to the tombstone, too shattered to even stare at it head on. He slowly dragged a hand through the snow, and then dug it into the front of his toga. His nails dug in harder and harder, until it pierced the skin beneath it. Tobio shuddered out sob after sob, his entire body wracking with the force of his cries. His throat felt achingly raw, and his entire skin felt like it was lit on fire despite being practically buried in snow. He muttered sorry’s and pleas under his breath, too far gone to even realize he was saying anything anymore.  _

__

_ Time had started again, and Tobio couldn’t tell how long it had been. The sun was high up in the sky by the time he finally felt the last tremors leave him. _

__

_ He slowly lifted his head, daring to make eye contact with the grave in front of him. A beam of light from the sun, choosing that moment to land on the tombstone. It began to sparkle, and entranced Tobio moved closer. It was as if suddenly, there was a warmer aura around it. As if he could detect just a hint of the girl’s soul looking at him, and smiling. A phantom brush of a hand rubbed Tobio’s cheek, and he tilted his head, trying to savor the first warm touch he had been granted in so long. Tears were falling out of his eyes still, but finally his vision began to clear. And just in his peripheral, Tobio noticed how there was a yellow flower that was sticking straight up in a melted patch of snow.  _

_ He made his way to it, and hesitatingly reached for its stem. He nimbly wrapped his fingers around it and pulled, plucking the flower from the grass. He then walked back to the grave, carefully kneeling just in front of the tombstone. He gently placed the flower right on top of the grave, whispering under his breath. The flower glowed for a moment, and then returned to its normal radiant color. Tobio then brought his fingers to his lips, lightly kissing them and then reverently placing his finger on the tomb before uttering a prayer. He wished the girl a safe passage into the next stage of her life. He wished her peace and harmony. But mostly, he wished for her to be given a better chance, the opportunity to live that was so cruelly stolen from her on Earth.  _

_ And Tobio stayed in that kneeled position, fingers placed on the tomb, filling hours and hours with the rest of his prayers. _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I read about greek funerals and tried to keep it accurate-ish. Also this flashback isn't finished, I gotta put our baby through a bit more pain. Just a LITTLE more.


End file.
